MOBILITY MANAGEMENT IN TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

• US 20110026484A1
• Filed: 10/02/2007
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vodafone Group PLC
• Original Assignee: Vodafone Group PLC
• Inventors: Fox, David, Frost, Timothy, Pudney, Christopher David
• Granted Patent: US 8,428,029 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/324 by mobility data, e.g. speed data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer

Abstract

A mobile telecommunications network includes a core network and a plurality of eNode Bs. A mobile terminal communicates with the core network via one of the eNode Bs. In an embodiment, when the mobile terminal is in a connected state and there is a pause in data transfer, during which the mobile terminal is handed over from one eNode B to another eNode B, the first eNode B informs the new eNode B of the pause in data transmission so that an optimal length of the pause in data transmission can be maintained before the idle state is entered. In another embodiment, an element of the telecommunications network stores a history of movement of the mobile terminal and passes this to a new eNode B. In another embodiment, when handover occurs, the first eNode B provides the new eNode B with radio quality information relating to the mobile terminal.

Claims

1. A mobile telecommunications system, comprising:

a network core;

at least one mobile terminal;

a plurality of telecommunications nodes for providing radio resources to the mobile terminal when registered therewith, each node controlling a plurality of cells for communicating with the mobile terminal, wherein the mobile terminal is operable to change from registration with a first of said nodes to registration with a second of said nodes; and

an information-providing device that provides the second of said nodes with information indicative of interaction of the mobile terminal with the first node.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second nodes each have a timer which expires after a time period from a triggering event, wherein the expiry of the node timer causes the node to notify the core network that the terminal has entered an idle communication state, wherein, when the node with which the mobile terminal is registered is changed from a first node to a second node after the triggering event but before expiry of the timer of the first node, an indication of the current timer value of the first node is provided to the second node, as said information indicative of interaction of the mobile terminal with the first node, and the time period after which the timer of the second node expires is modified in accordance therewith.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the triggering event of the node timer is a pause in the transmission of data to or from the first node.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein an indication of the number of handovers since the triggering event is provided to the second node.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the second node is operable to notify the core network that the terminal has entered the idle communication state or to adjust the frequency of cells favoured by the mobile terminal in dependence on the indication of the number of handovers.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said information indicative of interaction of the mobile terminal with the first node comprises a history of movement of the mobile terminal within the network.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said history is passed in response to movement of the mobile terminal from registration said first of the network nodes to registration with said second of said network nodes.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said history is used to derive an indication of the rate of movement of the mobile terminal.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a controller that controls handover of the mobile terminal from one of said cells to another of said cells in dependence on said indication of the rate of movement of the mobile terminal.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said information indicative of interaction of the mobile terminal with the first node comprises radio quality information relating to the mobile terminal.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the radio quality information includes radio quality information for the radio link between at least one cell controlled by the first node and the mobile terminal.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the radio quality information includes at least one of:

uplink carrier/interference, downlink carrier/interference and downlink quality of the second node.

2. (canceled)

14. A mobile telecommunications system, comprising:

including

at least one mobile terminal; and

a plurality of telecommunications nodes, each controlling a plurality of cells for communicating with the mobile terminal, wherein an element of the system is operable to store a history of interactions of the mobile terminal with the network and to pass the history to one of said network nodes.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the element comprises another of said network nodes.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said history is passed in response to movement of the mobile terminal from registration with said another of said network nodes to registration with said one of said network nodes.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein said history is used to derive an indication of the rate of movement of the mobile terminal.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a controller that controls handover of the mobile terminal from one of said cells to another of said cells in dependence on said indication.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the element is the mobile terminate and wherein said history is passed in response to movement of the mobile terminal from one tracking area to another tracking area.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein said history is used to adjust the cell reselection parameters used by the mobile terminal.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the element is a Mobility Management Entity.

23. The system of claim 14, wherein the history is passed in response to a change of the mobile terminal from an idle communication state to an active communication state.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the history includes data indicative of at least one of past tracking area updates, past idle to active communication state transitions, and past handovers of the mobile terminal.

20. (canceled)

25. (canceled)