Sprint Communications Comapny L.p.

Sprint Spectrum L.p.

C Brent Hirschman

Serge M Manning

Frederick Carl Rogers

John H Bennett, Iii

Jeremy Richard Breau

Lyle Thomas Bertz

Trevor Daniel Shipley

Methods are described for communicating a reregistration timer to a mobile device. A request is received from a mobile device to establish an IP communication session so that the mobile device is able to communicate by way of a wireless communication network. An allocation component assigns an IP address to the mobile device, in addition to a lifetime value that indicates a length of time after which the IP communication session expires. A threshold value is determined, which is a length of time prior to the expiration of the IP communication session when the session is to be renewed to avoid expiration. Based on the lifetime value and the threshold value, an existing lifetime timer is set and communicated to the mobile device, along with the assigned IP address.

Communicating reregistration information based on the lifetime of a communication session

A method and corresponding system to help maintain continuity of service level for a client device, such as where the client device is being served by an access network in accordance with a set of policy rules and the client device is going to stop being served by that access network and may then be served by another network. To help provide service continuity, the serving access network may detect that the client device is going to stop being served by the access network, and, responsively but before the client device stops being served by the access network, the access network or another entity may provision the client device with one or more service policy rules that the client device itself may then apply when the client device is no longer being served by the access network, such as when the client device is being served by another network instead.

Method and system for facilitating service level continuity

A method, system, and computer-readable media are provided for maintaining optimized communication after a mobile device transitions to a new foreign agent during a communication session. When a mobile device moves to and registers with a new foreign agent within a communication session, the mobile device's home agent multicasts a message to all foreign agents within an optimization cluster informing them of the updated registration. Accordingly, the foreign agents within the optimization cluster can proceed to transmit data packets directly to the new foreign agent servicing the mobile device within the communication session.

Maintaining path optimization during foreign agent handoff

Methods are described for managing the allocation of IPv6 addresses to mobile devices. More specifically, the network portions of IPv6 addresses are dynamically allocated to mobile devices by a home agent. In one embodiment, a request is received to allocate a network portion of an IPv6 address. It is determined whether a network portion is stored in a database in association with the mobile device. If so, that network portion is allocated to the mobile device so that the mobile device can establish a communication session. If not, the home agent is asked to allocate a network portion that is currently available.

Managing the allocation of internet protocol addresses in a wireless network

Methods are provided for negotiating a static IPv6 address with a mobile device such that the mobile device can use the address to establish a communications session. Initially, a static IPv6 address that the mobile device is proposing to use is received. It is determined that the static IPv6 address is stored in a database in association with the mobile device. As the static IPv6 address is stored, the mobile device is allowed to establish a communications session using the proposed IPv6 address.

Negotiating internet protocol addresses in a network

Methods are provided for assigning a static IPv6 address to a mobile device by accessing a database to determine whether a static IPv6 address is stored in the database for that mobile device. A mobile device communicates a request for a static IPv6 address, and it is then determined that a static IPv6 address is defined in a customer-profile database in association with the mobile device. The network portion and the host portion of the static IPv6 address are sent to the mobile device so that the mobile device is able to communicate by way of a communications network.

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Overland Park, KS, United States of America

C Brent Hirschman