Apparatus and method for supporting handover with multi-connectivity in wireless communication system

A user equipment (UE) for supporting handover in a wireless communication system, the UE comprising:

• a transmitter;
• a receiver;
• and
• a controller configured to control the transmitter and the receiver,
• wherein the controller is configured to:
• receive, from a serving cell, information related to a measurement configuration,
• perform measurement on the serving cell and other cell based on the information related to the measurement configuration,
• transmit, to the serving cell, a measurement report message including information related to at least one of the serving cell or the other cell,
• receive, from the serving cell, information of at least one candidate cell and information related to UE based handover execution, and
• identify one of the at least one candidate cell based on the information of at least one candidate cell and the information related to UE based handover execution.

A method for supporting handover at a serving cell in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

• transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), information related to a measurement configuration;
• receiving, from the UE, a measurement report message including information related to at least one of the serving cell or the other cell;
• and
• transmitting, to the UE, information of at least one candidate cell and information related to UE based handover execution,
• wherein the information related to the measurement configuration is used for performing measurement on the serving cell and other cell based on the information related to the measurement configuration at the UE, and
• wherein one of the at least one candidate cell is identified based on the information of at least one candidate cell and the information related to UE based handover execution at the UE.

A serving cell for supporting handover in a wireless communication system, the serving cell comprising:

• a receiver;
• a transmitter;
• and
• a controller configured to control the transmitter and the receiver,
• wherein the controller is configured to:
• transmit, to a user equipment (UE), information related to a measurement configuration via the transmitter,
• receive, from the UE, a measurement report message including information related to at least one of the serving cell or the other cell, and
• transmit, to the UE, information of at least one candidate cell and information related to UE based handover execution,
• wherein the information related to the measurement configuration is used for performing measurement on the serving cell and other cell based on the information related to the measurement configuration at the UE, and
• wherein one of the at least one candidate cell is identified based on the information of at least one candidate cell and the information related to UE based handover execution at the UE.