Connectivity Technology Blog

One of the challenges with HAPS or even tethered balloon is that when the balloon or HAPS turns, the cells change position and this can result in handovers even for users that are stationary. This unnecessary signalling can be reduced, as Softbank explained, with an innovative antenna designed to reduce these. Softbank shared this news last year while its subsidiary HAPS Mobile shared a video here . Quoting from the article: People are able to use their mobile phones when they’re on the move, such as when they’re riding in cars and trains, for example. They can do this thanks to what’s called the “handovers.” In the handover process, when a mobile phone moves further away from a base station and the signal becomes weak, it automatically connects to another base station from which it can receive a stronger signal. With HAPS, the airborne base station moves continuously while the receiver stays stationary, and this causes handovers. A HAPS aircraft delivers network connectivity with rad