he other. Adjacent parameters can be classified into four categories. Layer Layer handling refers to the classification of adjacent relationship types. In other words, the number of possible values for the layer parameter indicates the number of relationship types that can macroscopically be defined in a network, each type having its own set of parameters. Margins Regardless of the type of handover performed, a certain margin exists that should be kept between the source and target cells to prevent the ping-pong phenomenon. In a power budget handover, for example, if the margin is set to 6 dB, this means that cell A cannot hand out to cell B unless the power budget of B is greater than A by at least 6 dB. The same idea applies for level and quality. Priority and Load The priority notion is based on prioritising the target cells according to their load. The idea is to give the highest priority to the least loaded cells. This aims to balance traffic between cells. Three main parameters handle this algorithm: HO priority, HO load factor and load threshold. Load threshold is a BTS parameter that sets the limit for considering a cell loaded. HO priority is an adjacent table parameter; it is a decimal that allocates a priority to each target cell. The higher the value the higher is the priority. The HO load factor is a step affected by the loaded cells in order to decrease their priority towards incoming handovers from other cells. The following example gives better understanding of this mechanism. At first sight, cell C seems to be the one with the highest priority for cell X to make the handover (HO priority 3). However, after applying the load calculation, cell A gets the biggest priority (Table 2.25). Threshold Apart from specific thresholds to each type of handover, one threshold parameter exists that should always be overcome by the target cell level in order to make it eligible for taking an incoming handover. This parameter is commonly called rx_lev_access_min. Parameter Handling Two main operations concern par