Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (publ)

Future Wei Technologies, Inc.

Vibhor Julka

Erik Colban

Roger Gustavsson

Limei Wang

Sanjeevan Sivalingham

Ronald Xuzhuang Mao

Zhixian Xiang

Henrik Basilier

Hanan J Ahmed

Anders Lundstrom

Ning Nicholas Chen

When a mobile station requests circuit services notifications through a packet switched network, a mobile switching center sets a forwarding indicator. When the MSC detects an event indicative of a change in the status of the mobile station, the MSC sends an event notification to the packet switched network if the forwarding indicator is set to true. In the packet switched network, the base station can use the event notifications to manage communication resources used for packet data communications with the mobile station.

Event notification in a hybrid network

A paging procedure implemented by a base station avoids transmission of unnecessary page messages. In a first embodiment, a first base station is notified by a mobile switching center when a paging request is seat to a mobile station is a second base station. The first base station does not page the mobile station, but stores a paging parameter in memory. When the first base station receives a page response message from the mobile station, it correlates the unsolicited page response message with a paged mobile list to determine as corresponding paging parameter, and forwards the page response message with the stored paging parameter to the mobile switching center. In a second embodiment, the first base station pages the mobile station and then sends an immediate paging response to the mobile switching center without waiting for a page response from the mobile station to terminate the paging procedure at the mobile switching center.

Paging mobile stations in a hybrid network

A paging procedure implemented by a base station avoids transmission of unnecessary page messages. In a first embodiment, a first base station is notified by a mobile switching center when a paging request is sent to a mobile station via a second base station. The first base station does not page the mobile station, but stores a paging parameter in memory. When the first base station receives a page response message from the mobile station, it correlates the unsolicited page response message with a paged mobile list to determine a corresponding paging parameter, and forwards the page response message with the stored paging parameter to the mobile switching center. In a second embodiment, the first base station pages the mobile station and then sends an immediate paging response to the mobile switching center without waiting for a page response from the mobile station to terminate the paging procedure at the mobile switching center.

A system and method for local operations in a communications system are provided. A method for device operations includes identifying, at a communications controller of a communications system, identification information in a packet received from a machine-to-machine device, and determining if the packet is to be processed locally according to the identification information. The method further includes routing the packet to a local destination if the packet is to be processed locally, and routing the packet to a remote destination if the packet is not to be processed locally.

System and method for local operations in a communications system

A method and apparatus for reporting events in a machine-to-machine environment are provided. Upon detection of an event, a determination is made whether to report the event with or without a delay. If the event is to be reported with a delay, then reporting is delayed for a period of time. If an event notification is received prior to the expiration of the delay period, then the reporting of the event may be canceled as event has already been reported by another element. If not, then another determination is made whether to report the event with or without another delay. This process continues until either the event has been reported or an event notification corresponding to the event has been received from another element.

System and method for machine-to-machine application based congestion control

A system and method for supporting a keep alive mechanism in a wireless communications system are provided. A method for communications device operation includes if the communications device is operating within an idle time window and if the communications device is in the idle state, initiating a keep alive procedure, and if the communications device is not operating within the idle time window and if an elapsed time since a last transmission by the communications device is greater than an upper boundary of the idle time window, initiating the keep alive procedure. The method further includes if the communications device is not operating within the idle time window and if the elapsed time since the last transmission by the communications device is less than a lower boundary of the idle time window, not initiating the keep alive procedure.

System and method for supporting a keep alive mechanism in a wireless communications system

A system and method for selecting a gateway upon mobile station initial network entry is provided. A method for controller operations includes determining that a criterion for gateway selection for a mobile station is met, selecting a gateway based on an allocation vector, and transmitting an allocation request to the selected gateway. The selecting being based on an allocation vector of selection probabilities for a plurality of gateways. The method also includes receiving a response message from the selected gateway, completing an initial network entry procedure if the response message indicates that the selected gateway will support the mobile station, and performing an alternate selection procedure if the response message indicates that the selected gateway will not support the mobile station.

System and method for initial gateway selection

A method and apparatus provide network-based flow control for mobile station having data connections to the network. In an exemplary embodiment, a Packet Control Function (PCF) in a Radio Access Network (RAN) requests that a Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) in a Packet Core Network (PCN) turn flow control on and off as needed for mobile station data connections. That is, if the PCF receives data from the PDSN for delivery to a mobile station that the PCF determines to be unavailable, the PCF requests that data transfers from the PDSN be suspended for that mobile station. Such suspension avoids needless continued transfer of undeliverable data to the PCF. The PCF monitors or otherwise determines whether a flow-controlled mobile station has become available again and, if so, notifies the PDSN so that it can lift the suspension and resume data transfers as needed.

Method and apparatus for network imposed packet data flow control

An exemplary method and apparatus provide improved dormant handoff of mobile stations having multiple packet data service instances. Each time a dormant IS-2000 mobile station undergoes a packet data mobility event it sends a dormant handoff request to the supporting network for each packet data service instance associated with it. If the mobile station does not have a traffic channel already assigned to it, each dormant handoff request are sent over common access channels. By recognizing that a given mobile station is re-registering multiple service instances for the same mobility event, the network can avoid excess common channel signaling by assigning a traffic channel to the mobile station responsive to receiving the dormant handoff request for its first service instance. Such an assignment causes the mobile station to send dormant handoff requests for any remaining service instances over the assigned traffic channel rather than over the common access channel.

Method and apparatus for efficient dormant handoff of mobile stations having multiple packet data service instances

A wireless communication network, such as a 1xEV-DV network, manages concurrent services handoff to force re-registration of concurrent-services capable mobile stations that have undergone hard handoff during an active voice call. During such handoffs, the mobile station moves from a source base station to a target base station, each supporting concurrent services, and with each base station having associated network identification parameters. In response to receiving the mobile station in hard handoff while it is engaged in an active voice call, the target base station sends one or more of these network identification parameters as dummy values, which results in re-registration of the mobile station on the voice side of the network. The target base station broadcasts actual network identification parameters on one or more overhead channels such that the mobile stations operating in its coverage area have access to true network identification parameters.

Forced registration in concurrent services mobile station handoff

A call handling method and apparatus provide improved call handling in scenarios where concurrent voice and data service is not supported, or is not possible. A wireless communication network can be configured to provide real-time notifications of incoming voice calls to mobile stations that are busy in data calls, and can route those incoming voice call to voice mail, etc. The network can be configured to attempt call delivery of an incoming voice call to a mobile station busy in a data call with or without prompting the mobile station user, depending on the type of data service the mobile station is engaged in. According to exemplary embodiments, the traffic channel and other resources as desired are retained from the data call for use in supporting the voice call. Also, the mobile stations can be configured to support such notification, reconfiguration and channel retention processing.

Method and apparatus for call notification and delivery to a busy mobile station

A session controller provides mobility management support in a 1xEVDO wireless communication network, such as one configured in accordance with the TIA/EIA/IS-856 standard. Operating as a logical network entity, the SC maintains location (e.g., a pointing tag) and session information at an access network controller (ANC) granularity, thus allowing it to track access terminal (AT) transfer between ANCs but within subnet boundaries, where a network subnet comprises one or more ANCs. This allows a packet control function (PCF) to maintain location information at a packet zone granularity, thereby reducing mobility management overhead at the PCF. The SC provides updated tag and session information to PCFs, ANCs, and other SCs as needed. Information exchange with other SCs arises, for example, when two or more SCs cooperate to maintain or transfer routing and session information across subnets.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Vibhor Julka