Method and system for multicasting messages to select mobile recipients
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- conveying a multicast-join message respectively from each of a plurality of mobile stations, via a base transceiver station (BTS) and base station controller (BSC) serving the mobile station, to a network entity;
for each respective multicast-join message being conveyed via a given BTS or BSC, the given BTS or BSC adding to the multicast-join message an indication of which cell sector is currently serving the mobile station, so that the network entity receives the cell sector indication when the first entity receives the multicast-join message; and
using the cell-sector indications added into the multicast-join messages as a basis to route multicast messages from the network entity to the mobile stations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for multicasting or broadcasting a message to a specific group of mobile stations or to a specific group of cell sectors in a cellular wireless communication system. The method may include maintaining a record of which mobile stations are in a particular multicast group, and may include maintaining a record of which cell sectors are currently serving one or more members of the multicast group. The records may be maintained at one or more network entities, such as a radio network multicast router/server and/or hosts on a packet-switched network. By sending multicast messages, such as IP messages, to only those cell sectors currently serving members of a multicast group, network resources may be conserved.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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conveying a multicast-join message respectively from each of a plurality of mobile stations, via a base transceiver station (BTS) and base station controller (BSC) serving the mobile station, to a network entity; for each respective multicast-join message being conveyed via a given BTS or BSC, the given BTS or BSC adding to the multicast-join message an indication of which cell sector is currently serving the mobile station, so that the network entity receives the cell sector indication when the first entity receives the multicast-join message; and using the cell-sector indications added into the multicast-join messages as a basis to route multicast messages from the network entity to the mobile stations.
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2. A method comprising:
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conveying a multicast-join message respectively from each of a plurality of mobile stations, via a base transceiver station (BTS) and base station controller (BSC) serving the mobile station, to a first network entity; for each respective multicast-join message being conveyed via a given BTS or BSC, the given BTS or BSC adding to the multicast-join message an indication of which cell sector is currently serving the mobile station, so that the first network entity receives the cell sector indication when the first entity receives the multicast-join message; using the cell-sector indications added into the multicast-join messages as a basis to record at the first network entity one or more cell sectors that are currently serving the plurality of mobile stations; and receiving into the first network entity at least one multicast message, and using the record as a basis to send the at least one multicast message from the first network entity to only the one or more cell sectors indicated by the record, for air interface transmission of the at least one multicast message in turn to the mobile stations. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A radio network multicast server (RNMS) comprising:
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a processor; memory; and program logic in the memory and executable by the processor to perform functions including; receiving a multicast-join message respectively from each of a plurality of mobile stations, wherein each multicast-join message is conveyed via a base transceiver station (BTS) and base station controller (BSC) serving the mobile station from which the multicast-join message is conveyed, and wherein the BTS or BSC adds to the multicast-join message an indication of which cell sector is currently serving the mobile station, so that the RNMS receives the cell sector indication when the RNMS receives the multicast-join message; using the cell-sector indications as a basis to record in the memory one or more cell sectors that are currently serving the plurality of mobile stations; and routing at least a given multicast message to only the cell sectors indicated by the record, for air interface transmission of the at least one multicast message in turn to the mobile stations. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a radio network comprising a base transceiver station (BTS) and a base station controller (BSC), the BTS radiating to define one or more cell sectors in which mobile stations can engage in air-interface communication with the BTS, and the BSC being communicatively linked with a packet-switched network; and a radio network multicast server (RNMS) communicatively linked with the BSC and with the packet-switched network, wherein the RNMS receives multicast-join messages conveyed from the mobile stations via the BTS and BSC, and wherein the BTS or BSC adds to each multicast-join message being conveyed to the RNMS an indication of which cell sector is currently serving the mobile station from which the multicast-join message is being conveyed, wherein the RNMS uses the cell sector indications as a basis to compile a record of one or more cell sectors that are currently serving the mobile stations, and wherein the RNMS uses the record as a basis to route at least one multicast message to only the sectors serving the mobile stations. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification