Seamless Handover in Direct-to-Device Satellite Networks: From an Interference-Aware Perspective

Abstract: The direct-to-device (D2D) satellite network is an important 6G evolution direction to enable seamless ubiquitous connectivity. However, the network faces critical handover challenges due to high satellite mobility and wide beam footprints. Conventional handover strategies, mostly designed for terrestrial networks, may encounter excessive co-channel interference (CCI) and service degradation in the satellite environments. To address the issue, this paper introduces a novel handover optimization method to perform dynamic adjustment of an important parameter called elevation angle threshold (EAT) from an interference-aware perspective. Explicitly, we first analyze the trade-off between satellite visibility and CCI. Then, we propose a numerical algorithm to determine the optimal EAT that can achieve seamless coverage with CCI. We validate our method using a customized D2D LEO satellite network simulator in the Network Simulator (NS-3). The results demonstrate that the EAT optimization significantly reduces packet loss and hence enhances handover reliability. The work highlights the importance of interference-aware handover design for improving service continuity in future D2D satellite networks.