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Cellular Handoff: LTE/5G Handover Mechanics

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Cellular handoff: continuous connectivity while moving

When a phone moves between cell towers, the network transfers the connection to a new base station — a handover — without the user noticing (ideally). LTE and 5G NR handovers are far more complex than WiFi roaming: the network must transfer radio context, security keys, QoS bearer configurations, and reroute the data path through the core network, all within 50–100 milliseconds.

LTE calls the base stations eNBs (evolved Node B), 5G calls them gNBs (next-gen Node B). The signaling between them uses X2-AP (LTE) or Xn-AP (5G) protocols.

Packets in motion — click to inspect:

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