Mobility management procedures for a global mobile broadband system

The European Union ACCORD project, by integrating four different Access Networks (terrestrial/satellite) with an ATM based Core Network (all developed in the framework of European Union projects), represents a possible solution for the design of a mobile broadband network providing a global coverage. In the ACCORD scenario a fundamental role is played by the Multi‐Mode Terminal which allows mobile users, wherever located, to access to the same ATM based Core Network through four different Access Networks (in the following, referred to as “Segments”). This paper presents the ACCORD system architecture and describes the mobility management procedures. The main novelty behind these procedures lies in the fact that in a certain Multi‐Mode Terminal more than one segment can be simultaneously active, i.e., the user can simultaneously makes use of more than one segment.