¹⁷. Hysteresis is the mechanism which requires a high threshold value to be exceeded before a handoff decision is made. The current channel continues to be used until it has degraded enough that other channels are significantly better for the mobile. In this way unnecessary and undesirable handoffs are avoided. Hysteresis could describe the process of crowning of a new boxing champion; the challenger (”the contendah”) must defeat the reigning champion soundly, not just barely, to be declared the new champ.