Technical analysis and engineering reference.
In Low Earth Orbit, a satellite remains above a user's local horizon for only 5 to 10 minutes before descending below the skyline. Consequently, active cellular connections must execute handovers every few minutes. Under classical terrestrial A3 measurement event rules, by the time a phone detects signal degradation and reports back to the base station, the setting satellite is already obstructed, causing connection drops.
CHO decouples handover preparation from handover execution: - While the active satellite is still overhead with strong signal, the network pre-prepares handover configurations on the approaching target satellite. - The phone receives these configurations in advance, along with precise mathematical trigger conditions (e.g., satellite ephemeris elevation angles and threshold RSRP values). - When the condition is met, the phone switches immediately without waiting for real-time base station authorization.
Because execution is deterministic and autonomous, network signaling traffic is slashed by 80%, guaranteeing seamless voice calling and video streaming as satellites sweep overhead continuously.