  The combination of 5G and Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) can significantly
reduce application delay by lowering transmission delay and bringing
computational capabilities closer to the end user. Therefore, 5G MEC could
enable excellent user experience in applications like Mobile Augmented Reality
(MAR), which are computation-intensive, and delay and jitter-sensitive.
However, existing 5G handoff algorithms often do not consider the computational
load of MEC servers, are too complex for real-time execution, or do not
integrate easily with the standard protocol stack. Thus they can impair the
performance of 5G MEC. To address this gap, we propose Comp-HO, a handoff
algorithm that finds a local solution to the joint problem of optimizing signal
strength and computational load. Additionally, Comp-HO can easily be integrated
into current LTE and 5G base stations thanks to its simplicity and
standard-friendly deployability. Specifically, we evaluate Comp-HO through a
custom NS-3 simulator which we calibrate via MAR prototype measurements from a
real-world 5G testbed. We simulate both Comp-HO and several classic handoff
algorithms. The results show that, even without a global optimum, the proposed
algorithm still significantly reduces the number of large delays, caused by
congestion at MECs, at the expense of a small increase in transmission delay.
