Paging co-ordination in telecommunication networks
First Claim
1. A method in a serving General Packet Radio Service support node (SGSN) of coordinating page messages directed to Mobile Stations, comprising the steps of:
- monitoring a virtual A-interface between the SGSN and a Mobile Switching Center;
verifying that a circuit-switched page message has been received by the SGSN via the virtual A-interface;
determining whether a Mobile Station to which the received page message is directed is GPRS attached; and
if the Mobile Station to which the received page message is GPRS attached, sending a GPRS page message to a Base Station Controller in communication with the Mobile Station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A serving GPRS support node in a packet-switched portion of a communication network is registered in a mobile switching center (MSC) node in a circuit-switched portion of the network as a “virtual” circuit-switched node, in particular a base station controller of the like, instead of as an SGSN. The virtual BSC has one virtual cell with a unique Location-Area identity that is included in the search area used by the MSC when the MSC tries to locate a remote terminal that fails to reply to a paging message. Paging messages for such a remote terminal exchanging packets in a packet-switched portion of a communication network are broadcast in a cell on a common (circuit-switched) control channel and may also be included in a packet data stream sent directly to the terminal. The result is the same as if the circuit-switched and packet-switched portions of the network have combined procedures for mobility management, even if they do not. Paging is coordinated from the remote terminal'"'"'s point of view, avoiding the problem of dropped circuit-switched calls during packet-switched operation.
41 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A method in a serving General Packet Radio Service support node (SGSN) of coordinating page messages directed to Mobile Stations, comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a virtual A-interface between the SGSN and a Mobile Switching Center;
verifying that a circuit-switched page message has been received by the SGSN via the virtual A-interface;
determining whether a Mobile Station to which the received page message is directed is GPRS attached; and
if the Mobile Station to which the received page message is GPRS attached, sending a GPRS page message to a Base Station Controller in communication with the Mobile Station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of coordinating page messages directed to Mobile Stations in a network having a packet-switched portion and a circuit-switched portion, comprising the steps of:
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registering, in a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) in the circuit-switched portion, a serving General Packet Radio Service support node (SGSN) as a node in the circuit-switched portion;
monitoring a virtual A-interface between the SGSN and the MSC;
verifying that a circuit-switched page message has been received by the SGSN via the virtual A-interface;
determining whether a Mobile Station to which the received page message is directed is attached to the packet-switched portion; and
if the Mobile Station to which the received page message is directed is attached to the packet-switched portion, sending a packet-switched page message to a Base Station Controller in communication with the Mobile Station. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification