Soft handoff (or handover) is a mobile cellular network technology commonly used in CDMA (Code-division multiple access) systems

that enables the overlapping of the repeater coverage zones, so that every cell phone set is always well within range of at least one of the base stations. Since, a Soft handoff mechanism works by first switching and establishing connection with another base station before disconnecting from the existing base station in the network, it is also sometimes referred to as Make-beforeBreak Handoff. The key advantage of the soft handoff technology is that since there is no change in frequency or timing as a mobile set passes from one base station to another, there are practically no dead zones therefore the connections face negligible interruption and the dead zones are practically non existent. Other advantage of a Soft handoff is that it offers more reliable access continuity in network connection and less chances of a call termination during switching of base stations in comparison to a Hard handoff. This is due to it inherent attribute to handle simultaneous frequency channels which rarely suffer from fading or interference at the same time and together. Since, in the CDMA technology all the repeaters use the same frequency channel for each mobile phone set, irrespective of the location, therefore, because of the soft handoff technology the connections are relatively permanent and the communication is more stable in comparison to the other cellular technologies. Technical implementation of a Soft handoff is more expensive and complex in comparison to a Hard handoff. [edit] Applications of a Soft handoff A Soft handoff mechanism is particularly suitable for handling voice centric cellular networks particularly CDMA or GSM and latency sensitive communication services such as Videoconferencing.

About Hard handoff In a mobile cellular communication network, a Hard handoff (or Hard handover) is a typicalHandoff mechanism in a communication network which is designed to work by first breaking off from the initial connection with a base station before switching to another base station. This is done in order to retain communications in a session for mobile users after incurring a non perceptible and insignificant

brief interruption. A Hard handoff is also referred to as Break-before-Make handover.

A brief break off before establishing connection with another base station is referred to as an "event interruption" and is characteristically too short to be even noticed by users communicating on their mobile devices. Although it is noticeable as a short beep in analog communication systems, it is practicably not identifiable by a mobile device user in set up of digital communication. Also, at any moment in time, a Hard handoff is typically implemented on a single channel of communication. A Hard handoff is relatively cheaper and easier to implement in comparison to another type of Handoff called Soft handoff or Make-beforeBreak handover. [edit] Applications of a Hard handoff A Hard handoff can be practically employed with more efficiency in FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) network access systems, because in these systems channel interference is minimized since different frequency ranges are used from adjacent channels. Mostly CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)-based technologies employ Soft handoffs. A Hard handoff mechanism is particularly suitable for delay-tolerant communication traffic such as in broadband technology-enabled Internet, VoIP, mobile networking technology such as mobile WiMax. Broadband Internet access and emailing are more efficient and reliable when a Hard handoff mechanism is used.