US Patent 7623493 Method and apparatus for link layer assisted handoff

Various embodiments are described to address the need for an apparatus and method that improves upon known handoff techniques, such as Mobile IP and Fast Mobile IP, to improve the mobility experience of an end user. OSI layer 2-originated indications of a handoff being imminent (301, 501, 502), a link down for handoff (307, 509, 510), and a new link up after handoff (309, 511, 512) are introduced. These indications can be used by applications (such as real-time/streaming applications on the mobile (101)) to take suitable proactive measures prior to an actual handoff. Examples of such measures include the buffering of data to be used during the handoff interval in a way that improves the seamless mobility experience of the end user.