hard handoff vs soft handoff
I will make the handover definitions simple
Hard Handover:- When mobile(in Call) switches to a new sector/Cell which is on different frequency , then it performs hard Handover. It is basically an inter-frequency handover.
SOft Handover:- When mobile ( in Call0 switches to a new sector/cell which is on the same frequency then it is called a soft handover. If the "new" sector is also from the same BTS then it is called a softer handover.
UMTS networks omplements all types (Hard/Soft/Softer) of handovers.
Thanks.