Abstract: This paper proposed a novel intelligent handoff mechanism to achieve cooperative selection and handoff funcdons of networks and terminals in heterogeneous networks. With the development of various services and applications,heterogeneous network convergence is the inevitable trend for information and communication technologies. Considering the rectuirements of multi-access and multi-terminal environment, this paper took AHP and URA methods to select the best destination network and the optimal terminal. The paper also put forward terminal selection and handoff signaling flow to implement the individual mobility management for ultimate goal of user-central smart space, which comprises three types of handoff methods including network vertical handoff , terminal handoff along with joint network and terminal handoff. Simulations illustrate that the intelligent handoff can effectively achieve network/terminal selection, and guarantee QoS performance of services and applications in heterogeneous networks for modern service industry.

Key words: Heterogeneous networks, Network selection, Terminal handoff, Multiple attribute decision making