Nortel Networks Corporation

Henry S Lee

Risvan Coskun

Jagdish Venkata Sonti

William Edward Illidge

Goran Janevski

Len Lewis

Within a hard handoff procedure of a mobile terminal from a first radio sector to a second radio sector, a handoff manager requests the allocation of network resources associated with the second radio sector for the mobile terminal. If the second radio sector does not have sufficient network resources to support the mobile terminal, the handoff manager instructs the mobile terminal to switch into a dormant mode. By doing this, the handoff manager can delay the disconnection of the packet data session until there is sufficient network resources or until an internal packet data protocol error occurs due to a request timing out. In the case that sufficient resources become available, the handoff manager instructs the mobile terminal to return to a connected mode. One advantage of this procedure is the reduced need to re-establish a data packet session in cases that there is a temporary lack of sufficient network resources during a hard handoff.

Apparatus and method for hard handoff of data packet transmissions

A method and system to facilitate an inter-system CDMA multi-mode multi-pilot hard handoff is,provided. Reference target cell information consisting of reference target cell designations and their attributes are passed between the BS and MSC interfaces and between the serving MSC and target MSC interfaces. This invention enhances the ANSI-41 and CDG IOS A-Interface specifications to include reference target cell information. The target MSC processes the handoff request using the reference target cell information. The target MSC uses the reference target cell information to perform the handoff and other functions such as handoff retries, load balancing, and target screening. This increases the reliability of inter-system CDMA multi-mode multi-pilot hard handoffs.

Methods and systems for facilitating a multi-mode multi-pilot hard handoff

A system and method for recovering from a lost connection between a mobile station and a mobile communications system after a traffic channel has been successfully assigned are provided. After the connection is lost, rather than dropping the call altogether, the party on the other end of the call is connected to an announcement. While the announcement is playing, the system pages the mobile station in an effort to re-locate it and re-establish a traffic channel. When a traffic channel is successfully re-established, the call is connected. The connection may be lost during handoff, conversation (normal use), mobile termination or mobile origination for example.

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Gloucester, Canada

Henry S Lee