Patent ID: 8620322

Claim:
A method of handing over a communication with a mobile station between wireless links of an access network, the method comprising: an access network deciding to initiate a handover of a communication with a mobile station from a first wireless link to a new wireless link; the access network identifying a plurality of wireless links available for the handover, wherein the plurality of wireless links includes at least one wireless link serving a coverage area that is also served by one or more other wireless links; for each identified wireless link, the access network (a) determining a channel-quality metric that indicates a channel quality of the identified wireless link and a wireless-link loading metric that indicates a loading of the identified wireless link and (b) applying a linear function that takes the form of âˆ’aQ WL +bL WL â‰¦c, wherein Q WL is the channel-quality metric, L WL is the wireless-link loading metric, and a, b, and c are configurable parameters; the access network selecting the new wireless link based on the application of the linear function for each identified wireless link; and the access network facilitating the handover of the communication from the first wireless link to the selected new wireless link.