{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4412623658","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tcomm.2025.3592581","title":"Handoff Design in User-Centric Cell-Free Massive MIMO Networks Using DRL","display_name":"Handoff Design in User-Centric Cell-Free Massive MIMO Networks Using DRL","publication_year":2025,"publication_date":"2025-07-24","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4412623658","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tcomm.2025.3592581"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1109/tcomm.2025.3592581","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tcomm.2025.3592581","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S196647941","display_name":"IEEE Transactions on Communications","issn_l":"0090-6778","issn":["0090-6778","1558-0857"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310316002","host_organization_name":"IEEE Communications Society","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310316002","https://openalex.org/P4310319808"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["IEEE Communications Society","Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE Transactions on Communications","raw_type":"journal-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":false,"oa_status":"closed","oa_url":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5012343901","display_name":"Hussein A. Ammar","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4071-3473"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I51768193","display_name":"Royal Military College of Canada","ror":"https://ror.org/04yr71909","country_code":"CA","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I51768193"]}],"countries":["CA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Hussein A. Ammar","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, Canada"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4071-3473","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, Canada","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I51768193"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5070888504","display_name":"Raviraj Adve","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0224-2209"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I185261750","display_name":"University of Toronto","ror":"https://ror.org/03dbr7087","country_code":"CA","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I185261750"]}],"countries":["CA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Raviraj Adve","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of ECE, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0224-2209","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of ECE, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I185261750"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5049043069","display_name":"Shahram Shahbazpanahi","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8914-5481"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I39470171","display_name":"Ontario Tech University","ror":"https://ror.org/016zre027","country_code":"CA","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I39470171"]}],"countries":["CA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Shahram Shahbazpanahi","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I39470171"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5037720618","display_name":"Gary Boudreau","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3539-9624"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210094041","display_name":"Ericsson (Canada)","ror":"https://ror.org/00nas2c56","country_code":"CA","type":"company","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I1306339040","https://openalex.org/I4210094041"]}],"countries":["CA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Gary Boudreau","raw_affiliation_strings":["Ericsson Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3539-9624","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Ericsson Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210094041"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5049302162","display_name":"Israfil Bahceci","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2826-6885"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210094041","display_name":"Ericsson (Canada)","ror":"https://ror.org/00nas2c56","country_code":"CA","type":"company","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I1306339040","https://openalex.org/I4210094041"]}],"countries":["CA"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Israfil Bahceci","raw_affiliation_strings":["Ericsson Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2826-6885","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Ericsson Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210094041"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":4,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":0.648,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":2,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.66170094,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":false},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":97,"max":98},"biblio":{"volume":"73","issue":"11","first_page":"11368","last_page":"11384"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10148","display_name":"Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization","score":0.9987000226974487,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10148","display_name":"Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization","score":0.9987000226974487,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11409","display_name":"Advanced Wireless Network Optimization","score":0.995199978351593,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10651","display_name":"IPv6, Mobility, Handover, Networks, Security","score":0.9940999746322632,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/mimo","display_name":"MIMO","score":0.676575243473053},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.6072747707366943},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/handover","display_name":"Handover","score":0.5515409111976624},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-network","display_name":"Computer network","score":0.46967774629592896},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/electronic-engineering","display_name":"Electronic engineering","score":0.33472174406051636},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/telecommunications","display_name":"Telecommunications","score":0.3205043077468872},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/engineering","display_name":"Engineering","score":0.28037214279174805}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C207987634","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q176862","display_name":"MIMO","level":3,"score":0.676575243473053},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6072747707366943},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C111852164","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1414679","display_name":"Handover","level":2,"score":0.5515409111976624},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C31258907","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1301371","display_name":"Computer network","level":1,"score":0.46967774629592896},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C24326235","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q126095","display_name":"Electronic engineering","level":1,"score":0.33472174406051636},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C76155785","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q418","display_name":"Telecommunications","level":1,"score":0.3205043077468872},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C127413603","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11023","display_name":"Engineering","level":0,"score":0.28037214279174805},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C127162648","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16858953","display_name":"Channel (broadcasting)","level":2,"score":0.0}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1109/tcomm.2025.3592581","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tcomm.2025.3592581","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S196647941","display_name":"IEEE Transactions on Communications","issn_l":"0090-6778","issn":["0090-6778","1558-0857"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310316002","host_organization_name":"IEEE Communications Society","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310316002","https://openalex.org/P4310319808"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["IEEE Communications Society","Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE Transactions on Communications","raw_type":"journal-article"}],"best_oa_location":null,"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320334593","display_name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada","ror":"https://ror.org/01h531d29"}],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":34,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W2014447384","https://openalex.org/W2096302898","https://openalex.org/W2140452629","https://openalex.org/W2286275639","https://openalex.org/W2761444498","https://openalex.org/W2768578820","https://openalex.org/W2904246096","https://openalex.org/W2917932334","https://openalex.org/W2963246369","https://openalex.org/W2963648888","https://openalex.org/W2965123227","https://openalex.org/W2973024105","https://openalex.org/W2974046131","https://openalex.org/W3030516277","https://openalex.org/W3043739749","https://openalex.org/W3112361850","https://openalex.org/W3122665117","https://openalex.org/W3158832185","https://openalex.org/W3158898476","https://openalex.org/W3162401526","https://openalex.org/W3182706449","https://openalex.org/W3187184007","https://openalex.org/W3195410378","https://openalex.org/W3199367745","https://openalex.org/W3207107933","https://openalex.org/W3211540975","https://openalex.org/W4212888567","https://openalex.org/W4290996551","https://openalex.org/W4300361987","https://openalex.org/W4320029299","https://openalex.org/W4388642423","https://openalex.org/W4392175452","https://openalex.org/W4392693647","https://openalex.org/W4396596886"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W2520149731","https://openalex.org/W1981519115","https://openalex.org/W1985631144","https://openalex.org/W2087123996","https://openalex.org/W3111553259","https://openalex.org/W2103264866","https://openalex.org/W53279813","https://openalex.org/W2115561238","https://openalex.org/W2128480633","https://openalex.org/W2270230623"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"In":[0],"the":[1,13,21,41,68,86,107,111,124,136,141,152,155,193],"user-centric":[2,22],"cell-free":[3],"massive":[4],"MIMO":[5],"(UC-mMIMO)":[6],"network":[7,82],"scheme,":[8],"user":[9,137],"mobility":[10,128],"necessitates":[11],"updating":[12],"set":[14],"of":[15,45,121,154,195],"serving":[16],"access":[17],"points":[18],"to":[19,37,56,77,83,105,115,184,191],"maintain":[20],"clustering.":[23],"Such":[24],"updates":[25],"are":[26,133,149],"typically":[27],"performed":[28],"through":[29],"handoff":[30],"(HO)":[31],"operations;":[32],"however,":[33],"frequent":[34],"HOs":[35,186],"lead":[36],"overheads":[38],"associated":[39,112],"with":[40,72,206],"allocation":[42],"and":[43,58,110,176],"release":[44],"resources.":[46],"This":[47],"paper":[48],"presents":[49],"a":[50,79,91,95,100,207],"deep":[51,80],"reinforcement":[52],"learning":[53],"(DRL)-based":[54],"solution":[55,66,199],"predict":[57],"manage":[59],"these":[60],"connections":[61],"for":[62,94],"mobile":[63],"users.":[64],"Our":[65,198],"employs":[67],"Soft":[69],"Actor-Critic":[70],"algorithm,":[71],"continuous":[73,165],"action":[74,166],"space":[75,167,174],"representation,":[76],"train":[78],"neural":[81],"serve":[84],"as":[85],"HO":[87,101,180],"policy.":[88],"We":[89,117],"present":[90],"novel":[92],"proposition":[93],"reward":[96],"function":[97],"that":[98,132,148,162,177],"integrates":[99],"penalty":[102],"in":[103,187,203],"order":[104],"balance":[106],"attainable":[108],"rate":[109],"overhead":[113,194],"related":[114],"HOs.":[116,197],"develop":[118],"two":[119],"variants":[120],"our":[122,163,178],"system;":[123],"first":[125],"one":[126,143],"uses":[127,144],"direction-assisted":[129],"(DA)":[130],"observations":[131,147],"based":[134,150],"on":[135,151],"movement":[138],"pattern,":[139],"while":[140],"second":[142],"history-assisted":[145],"(HA)":[146],"history":[153],"large-scale":[156],"fading":[157],"(LSF).":[158],"Simulation":[159],"results":[160],"show":[161],"DRL-based":[164],"approach":[168],"is":[169],"more":[170],"scalable":[171],"than":[172,211],"discrete":[173],"counterpart,":[175],"derived":[179],"policy":[181],"automatically":[182],"learns":[183],"gather":[185],"specific":[188],"time":[189,205,209],"slots":[190],"minimize":[192],"initiating":[196],"can":[200],"also":[201],"operate":[202],"real":[204],"response":[208],"less":[210],"0.4":[212],"ms.":[213]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":2}],"updated_date":"2026-07-17T09:13:05.818461","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}