Telecommunications Networks

• US 20090221304A1
• Filed: 01/10/2007
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vodafone Group Services Limited (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: Vodafone Group Services Limited (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Inventors: Pudney, Christopher David
• Granted Patent: US 8,457,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/458
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

A telecommunication system includes a first radio access technology having a first radio access network and a first network core operable to page a mobile terminal via at least one element of the first radio access technology. The telecommunications system also includes a second radio access technology having a second radio access network and a second network core operable to page said mobile terminal via at least one element of the second radio access technology. Each of these elements may receive the page from its radio access technology, determine whether the mobile terminal is registered with that radio access technology and notify its core network if the mobile terminal is not registered. The core network may cause the mobile terminal to be paged in the other radio access technology. Different timer periods for idle timers at mobile terminal and eNodeB may avoid possible loss of mobile terminating data.

Claims

1. A telecommunications network, comprising:

a radio access network; and

a network core operable to page a mobile terminal, wherein at least one element of the network is operable to receive mobile terminating data from the network and to determine whether that mobile terminating data can be delivered to the mobile terminal, and wherein said at least one element is operable to instruct the network core to page the mobile terminal if the mobile terminating data cannot be delivered to the mobile terminal.

3. The network of claim 1, wherein said at least one element is part of the radio access network.

4. The network of claim 1, wherein said at least one element includes at least one of:

an SGSN, an RNC, a base transceiver station and eNodeB.

5. A system including the telecommunications network of claim 1 comprising a first radio access technology, and further including a second radio access technology having a second radio access network and a second network core.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said at least one element of the first radio access technology and at least one element of the second radio access technology are operable to receive the mobile terminating data from its radio access technology and to determine whether said mobile terminal is camped with that radio access technology and to notify its core network if the mobile terminal is not camped with that radio access technology.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said first network core and said second network core include at least one common element.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said common element comprises a mobility management element.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the first radio access network is divided into a plurality of first areas and the second radio access network is divided into a plurality of second areas, and wherein the first areas are different from the second areas.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first radio access network is divided into a plurality of first cells, each served by a respective base station, and said second radio access network is divided into a plurality of second cells, each served by a respective base station, said first cells being smaller than said first areas and said second cells being smaller than said second areas.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said base stations each comprise at least one of:

a base transceiver station, Node B and eNodeB.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal has an active state in which the cell occupied by the mobile terminal in one of the radio access technologies is known and an idle or inactive state when the cell occupied by the mobile terminal is not known but in which the last area known to be occupied by the mobile terminal is recorded.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein when the mobile terminal is in the idle or inactive state no signalling from the mobile terminal to the core network is performed when the mobile terminal moves from one of the radio access technologies to the other of the radio access technologies.

2. A telecommunications network, comprising:

a radio access network; and

a network core, wherein at least one element of the network is operable to receive mobile terminating data destined for a mobile terminal from the network and to determine whether the mobile terminal is in an active state and to notify the core network if the mobile terminal is not in the active state.

14. A telecommunications network, comprising:

a radio access network comprising a plurality of nodes, a core network, and a plurality of telecommunications terminals for communicating with the core network via an associated one of said nodes, the telecommunications terminals each having a timer which expires after a first duration after a triggering event, and the nodes each having a timer which expires after a second duration after a triggering event, wherein the expiry of the telecommunications terminal timer causes the telecommunications terminal to enter an idle or inactive communication state and the expiry of the node timer causes the node to notify the core network that the terminal has entered an idle or inactive communication state, and wherein said second duration is shorter than said first duration and by the arrangement being such that, in response to a triggering event of the telecommunications terminal timer and the node timer, the telecommunications terminal enters the idle or inactive state after the associated node has notified the core network.

15. The network of claim 14, wherein the triggering event of the telecommunications terminal timer is a pause in the transmission of data to or from the telecommunications terminal.

16. The network of claim 14, wherein the triggering event of the node timer is a pause in the transmission of data to or from the node.

17. A telecommunications system, comprising:

a first radio access technology having a first radio access network and a first network core operable to send data to a mobile terminal via at least one element of the first radio access technology; and

a second radio access technology having a second radio access network and a second network core operable to send said data to said mobile terminal via at least one element of the second radio access technology, wherein at least one of said core networks is operable to reconfigure said data from a form suitable for sending by said first radio access technology into a form suitable for sending by said second radio access technology.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said reconfiguration includes at least one of encryption, decryption, compression and decompression.

19. A method of operating a telecommunications network including a radio access network and a network core which pages a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

receiving at least one element of the network mobile terminating data from the network;

determining whether the mobile terminating data can be delivered to the mobile terminal; and

instructing the network core, via said at least one element, to page the mobile terminal if the mobile terminating data cannot be delivered to the mobile terminal.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said at least one element is part of the radio access network.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein said at least one element includes at least one of:

an SGSN, an RNC, a base transceiver station and eNodeB.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the telecommunications network comprises a first radio access technology, and further including providing a second radio access technology having a second radio access network and a second network core.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein one of said at least one element of the first radio access technology and at least one element of the second radio access technology receives the mobile terminating data from its radio access technology, determines whether said mobile terminal is camped with that radio access technology and notifies its core network if the mobile terminal is not camped with that radio access technology.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the first radio access network is divided into a plurality of first areas and the second radio access network is divided into a plurality of second areas, and wherein the first areas are different from the second areas.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the first radio access network is divided into a plurality of first cells, each served by a respective base station, and said second radio access network is divided into a plurality of second cells, each served by a respective base station, said first cells being smaller than said first areas and said second cells being smaller than said second areas.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said base stations each comprise at least one of:

a base transceiver station, Node B and eNodeB.

28. The method of claim 19, wherein the mobile terminal has an active state in which the cell occupied by the mobile terminal in one of the radio access technologies is known and an idle or inactive state when the cell occupied by the mobile terminal is not known but in which the last area known to be occupied by the mobile terminal is recorded.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein when the mobile terminal is in the idle or inactive state no signalling from the mobile terminal to the core network is performed when the mobile terminal moves from one of the radio access technologies to the other of the radio access technologies.

20. A method of operating a telecommunications network including a radio access network and a network core, the method comprising:

receiving at least one element of the network mobile terminating data destined for a mobile terminal from the network; and

determining whether the mobile terminal is in an active state; and

notifying the core network if the mobile terminal is not in the active state.

30. A method of operating a telecommunications network including a radio access network comprising a plurality of nodes, a core network, and a plurality of telecommunications terminals for communicating with the core network via an associated one of said nodes, the telecommunications terminals each having a timer which expires after a first duration after a triggering event, and the nodes each having a timer which expires after a second duration after a triggering event, the method comprising:

at the expiry of the telecommunications terminal timer, causing the telecommunications terminal to enter an idle or inactive communication state; and

at the expiry of the node timer, causing the node to notify the core network that the terminal has entered an idle or inactive communication state, wherein said second duration is shorter than said first duration such that, in response to a triggering event of the telecommunications terminal timer and the node timer, the telecommunications terminal enters the idle or inactive state after the associated node has notified the core network.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the triggering event of the telecommunications terminal timer is a pause in the transmission of data to or from the telecommunications terminal.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the triggering event of the node timer is a pause in the transmission of data to or from the node.

33. A method of operating a telecommunications system including a first radio access technology having a first radio access network and a first network core operable to send data to a mobile terminal via at least one element of the first radio access technology, and a second radio access technology (LTE) having a second radio access network (eNodeB 26) and a second network core (10,28,30,32) operable to send said data to said mobile terminal (UE 1) via at least one element of the second radio access technology, the method comprising:

causing at least one of said core networks to reconfigure said data from a form suitable for sending by said first radio access technology into a form suitable for sending by said second radio access technology.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said reconfiguration includes at least one of encryption, decryption, compression and decompression.