Mobility Mechanism for Service Continuity

BACKGROUND

p-0002Easily transportable devices with wireless telecommunications capabilities, such as mobile telephones, personal digital assistants, handheld computers, and similar devices, will be referred to herein as user equipment (UE). The term “UE” may refer to a device and its associated Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) that includes a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) application, a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) application, or a Removable User Identity Module (R-UIM) application or may refer to the device itself without such a card. The term “UE” may also refer to devices that have similar capabilities but that are not transportable, such as a desktop computer or a set-top box. A UE might communicate with a second UE, some other component in a telecommunications network, an automated computing device such as a server computer, or some other device, any of which can be referred to as a node or an element. A communications connection between a UE and another node or element might promote a voice call, a file transfer, or some other type of data exchange, any of which can be referred to as a call or a session.

p-0003As technology has evolved, more advanced network access equipment has been introduced that can provide services that were not possible previously. This advanced network access equipment might include, for example, an enhanced node B (ENB) rather than a base station or other systems and devices that are more highly evolved than the equivalent equipment in a traditional wireless telecommunications system. Such advanced or next generation equipment may be referred to herein as long-term evolution (LTE) equipment. For LTE equipment, the region in which a UE can gain access to a telecommunications network might be referred to by a name other than “cell”, such as “hot spot”. As used herein, the term “cell” will be used to refer to any region in which a UE can gain access to a telecommunications network, regardless of whether the UE is a traditional cellular device, an LTE device, or some other device.

p-0004Some UEs communicate in a circuit switched mode, wherein a dedicated communication path exists between two devices. For the duration of a call or session, all data exchanged between the two devices travels along the single path. Some UEs have the capability to communicate in a packet switched mode, wherein a data stream representing a portion of a call or session is divided into packets that are given unique identifiers. The packets might then be transmitted from a source to a destination along different paths and might arrive at the destination at different times. Upon reaching the destination, the packets are reassembled into their original sequence based on the identifiers.

p-0005Communications that take place via circuit switching can be said to occur in the circuit switched domain and communications that take place via packet switching can be said to occur in the packet switched domain. Within each domain, several different types of networks, protocols, or technologies can be used. In some cases, the same network, protocol, or technology can be used in both domains. The wireless communication networks may be based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), or some other multiple access scheme. A CDMA-based network may implement one or more standards such as Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) IS-2000 (commonly referred to as CDMA 1x), 3GPP2 IS-856 (commonly referred to as CDMA 1xEV-DO), or 3GPP UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). A TDMA-based network may implement one or more standards such as 3GPP Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or 3GPP General Packet Radio Service (GPRS).

p-0006GSM is an example of a wireless network standard that uses only the circuit switching mode. Examples of wireless network standards that use only packet switching include GPRS, CDMA 1x EV-DO, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which might comply with Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards such as 802.16, 802.16e, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and similar standards. Examples of wireless network standards that may use both circuit switching and packet switching modes include CDMA 1x and UMTS. An example of an application-layer protocol that can be used in a packet switching wireless network is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). SIP has been standardized and governed primarily by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IP (Internet Protocol) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is a packet switched technology that allows multimedia content to be transmitted between nodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

p-0007For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts.

p-0008<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is an illustration of a wireless telecommunications system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

p-0009<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a call flow diagram according to the prior art.

p-0010<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a call flow diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

p-0011<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is another call flow diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

p-0012<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is another call flow diagram according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

p-0013<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a diagram of a wireless communications system including a user equipment operable for some of the various embodiments of the disclosure.

p-0014<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> is a block diagram of a user equipment operable for some of the various embodiments of the disclosure.

p-0015<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> is a diagram of a software environment that may be implemented on a user equipment operable for some of the various embodiments of the disclosure.

p-0016<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> illustrates an exemplary general-purpose computer system suitable for implementing the several embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

p-0017It should be understood at the outset that although illustrative implementations of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below, the disclosed systems and/or methods may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary designs and implementations illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

p-0018In an embodiment, a system comprising an inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy controller (IRC) is provided. The IRC is configured to communicate with a source gateway in communication with a source radio access network (RAN) using a first radio access technology (RAT). The IRC is further configured to communicate with a target gateway in communication with a target RAN using a second RAT. The IRC is further configured to promote a handover of a user equipment from the source RAN connected to the source gateway to the target RAN connected to the target gateway when the source gateway fails.

p-0019In an alternative embodiment, a system is provided comprising at least one processor configured to promote performing a method for backing up a failed source gateway when a source radio access network (RAN) configured to communicate with the source gateway is unable to communicate with a target RAN. The method comprises detecting the source gateway failure; identifying a target gateway configured to communicate with the target RAN; querying for information regarding at least one user equipment (UE) previously in communication with the source gateway; promoting a redundancy control component transmitting a redundancy backup request to the target gateway; mapping a first plurality of RANs that are configured to communicate with the target gateway and that are overlaid with a second plurality RANs that are configured to communicate with the source gateway; identifying the target RAN among the first plurality of RANs; promoting the target gateway sending a redundancy backup request to the target RAN; promoting the target RAN sending a relocation command to the at least one UE; establishing radio and core transfer and bearer communication between the target RAN and the at least one UE; and establishing IP bearer service between the at least one UE and the redundancy control component.

p-0020In an alternative embodiment, a system is provided comprising at least one processor configured to promote performing a method for backing up a failed source gateway when a source radio access network (RAN) configured to communicate with the source gateway is able to communicate with a target RAN. The method comprises detecting the source gateway failure; identifying a target gateway configured to communicate with the target RAN; querying for information regarding at least one user equipment (UE) previously in communication with the source RAN and the source gateway; promoting a redundancy control component transmitting a redundancy backup request to the target gateway; mapping a first plurality of RANs that are configured to communicate with the target gateway and that are overlaid with a second plurality RANs that are configured to communicate with the source gateway; identifying the target RAN among the first plurality of RANs; promoting the target gateway sending a redundancy backup request to the target RAN; promoting the target RAN initiating redundancy backup with the source RAN; establishing a core bearer for the at least one UE; establishing a radio bearer for the at least one UE; and establishing IP bearer service between the at least one UE and the redundancy control component.

p-0021The wireless packet switching domain services for both voice and data have greatly evolved to include broadband, high speed, and multi-media services using different radio access technologies (RATs) such as UMTS, GPRS, Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), CDMA 2000, 3GPP-LTE, 3GPP2-LTE, WLAN, and WiMAX. To satisfy end user service demands with the technologies that have historically evolved, an operator may deploy multiple radio access networks in the same geophysical locations, fully or partially overlaid. There may also be cases in which different operators share the same radio access network with the same or different radio frequencies. For inter-RAT/inter-network systems, operators may wish to support inter-working functionality that allows UEs to camp in or hand over to different RATs according to the service needs of the UEs, radio conditions, and network load balancing considerations.

p-0022In the course of the evolution of wireless telecommunications, wireless inter-working between different RATs and different network/operational service intersections and overlays has been developed. There have been discussions among different telecommunication organizations (such as 3GPP, 3GPP2, and IEEE) on the requirements and solutions for inter-working between 3GPP LTE and 3GPP2 and inter-working between 3GPP LTE and WiMAX. There have also been discussions regarding requirements and solutions for intra-LTE issues and for inter-working between 3GPP and WLAN and inter-working between 3GPP LTE and pre-3GPP LTE technologies (such as UMTS/GPRS). An important aspect for wireless network inter-networking is inter-working mobility handling triggered by mobility drivers such as UE capabilities and supported services, radio conditions, and network load balancing for UEs in the active state or camped in the idle state. 3GPP specification TS 36.300 has summarized the important LTE mobility control drivers and limitations.

p-0023Within any of these RATs, a capability might exist for detecting when an abnormal condition occurs to an element in the core network of the system. For example, when a packet service or circuit service switch, a media gateway, a mobility anchor switch, a gateway switch, or another core element fails, this condition can be detected and managed by keep-alive type messages between the core network elements or in some other known manner. For network management, core network signaling, for example by a signaling transfer point, might inform the other network nodes not to deliver any traffic to the node that is out of service until that node is recovered.

p-0024To provide continued services and/or to minimize the service interruption time in the case of a core network element failure, network redundancy mechanisms, such as geographical redundancy, have been developed to back up the failed system. In a typical redundant wireless network system, one or more extra network elements are needed for load sharing or active/standby backup. In an N+1 redundant wireless network with N+1 load sharing, the N+1 elements are all active under normal operation and each operates at a maximum of N/(N+1) of its capacity to ensure that its capacity will not be exceeded if one of the elements fails.

p-0025The configuration for wireless network load sharing redundancy can be more complicated. For the N+1 active/standby case, under normal operation there are N active elements and one standby element. The standby element should typically be a super element among the N+1 elements that can back up the services of any failed element. In addition, all of the signaling and bearer connections from the active elements to the standby element might be required in an active/standby system. A switchover from an active element to a standby element might entail a relatively long service interruption because of the time needed for database setup, system reconfiguration, and system startup on the standby element.

p-0026In general, the traditional wireless network redundancy mechanism can be very costly. However, for a wireless network without a system-wide redundancy mechanism, many services could be interrupted when a core network element fails. To minimize service outage, most wireless telecommunication system operators have system-wide redundancy mechanisms in place. System recovery procedures have been provided by vendors and operators to minimize service down time.

p-0027In an embodiment, a network redundancy mechanism is provided to handle wireless core network element failure and to minimize service interruption time with low or no extra cost for wireless network redundancy. When a failure occurs in a wireless core network element, the element failure might be detected by another network element via inter-element keep-alive messages. For a 3GPP LTE wireless network with inter-RAT/inter-network functionalities (such as 3GPP LTE to non-3GPP) and with sufficient radio channel resources for inter-working, instead of establishing a traditional load sharing or an active/standby redundant backup system, the network, in an embodiment, can initiate an inter-working mobility trigger to redirect impacted idle UEs and hand over impacted active UEs to another RAT for continued services.

p-0028For cases where such a mobility action is taken between a 3GPP LTE network and a non-3GPP network, the mobility trigger can be considered the LTE mobility function of inter-network inter-RAT redundancy. For cases where such a mobility action is taken between different RATs within a 3GPP network or within a non-3GPP network, the mobility trigger can be considered the mobility function of intra-network inter-RAT redundancy. When the LTE mobility action is triggered by a core network element failure, mechanisms utilizing some or all of the other mobility drivers can be used to provide continued services to the impacted UEs. In addition, the total network load could be rebalanced. This mechanism is applicable to wireless network systems such as, but not limited to, LTE inter-ENB, LTE and pre-LTE 3GPP inter-RAT (such as LTE and UTRAN/GERAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network/GSM EDGE Radio Access Network)), and LTE and non-3GPP (such as 3GPP2 and WiMAX). The basic principle is applicable to other wireless networks. In comparison to traditional wireless network redundancy methods, the cost and operational complexity for wireless network redundancy realization can be reduced by making use of the existing inter-RAT/inter-network overlay resource bandwidth without redundant elements in place.

p-0029In an embodiment, the network redundancy mechanism might include a first network configured to communicate with a first serving gateway, a second network configured to communicate with a second serving gateway, and an inter-working redundancy control mechanism configured to communicate with the first and second gateways. The system might also include a UE that communicates with the first network. When the first serving gateway experiences a failure, the inter-working redundancy control mechanism promotes the UE communicating via the second network and the second serving gateway.

p-0030<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates an embodiment of two overlaid radio access networks (RANs) in which inter-working functionalities can be provided. A source RAN <b>111</b> and a target RAN <b>112</b> each use one or more technologies such as GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, 3GPP LTE, WLAN, WiMAX, and/or CDMA 2000. Internet protocols (IP) IPV4 and/or IPV6 are supported by these technologies. Geographically, the source RAN <b>111</b> and the target RAN <b>112</b> might be intersected and/or overlaid. In addition, the source RAN <b>111</b> and the target RAN <b>112</b> might be serviced by any or a combination of Internet Protocol-based networks, packet-based networks, public switched telecom networks (PSTN), and/or integrated services digital networks.

p-0031A UE <b>101</b> is connected via the source RAN <b>111</b> to a source gateway <b>121</b>. The source RAN <b>111</b> connects to at least one radio access cell by which the source RAN <b>111</b> provides services to the UE <b>101</b> via an air interface. The UE <b>101</b> maintains a list of neighbor cells for its mobility applications. The UE's neighbor cell list may consist of mixed cells from different RANs and different wireless networks because of the inter-RAT and inter-network geographic intersections and/or overlays. The UE <b>101</b> measures the radio channel parameters for the cells on its neighbor cell list and reports its measurements to the source RAN <b>111</b> periodically or as instructed by the source RAN <b>111</b>. The source RAN <b>111</b> receives the measurement reports from the UE <b>101</b> and passes the reports to the source gateway <b>121</b>.

p-0032The source RAN <b>111</b> might monitor the status of the source gateway <b>121</b> via keep-alive messages. In an embodiment, to maintain UE service continuity, if the source RAN <b>111</b> detects that the source gateway <b>121</b> is out of service, the source RAN <b>111</b> sends redundancy handover/relocation commands to the UE <b>101</b> and indicates an identifier for a target RAN <b>112</b>. The source RAN <b>111</b> might send the commands immediately upon detecting the failure of the source gateway <b>121</b> or might wait for a redundancy function trigger from the core network.

p-0033In an embodiment, if the source gateway <b>121</b> fails, service for the UE <b>101</b> is redirected, via the target RAN <b>112</b>, to a target gateway <b>122</b>. The gateways (the source gateway <b>121</b> and the target gateway <b>122</b>) can have the combined functionalities of a mobility management element (MME), a user plane element (UPE), a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PDN GW), and/or other core network elements. These core network elements should be considered logical elements that could be physically collocated or separated. The UE <b>101</b>, the source RAN <b>111</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b>, and the target gateway <b>122</b> can belong to any of, but are not limited to, the types in the nine inter-working cases described in the following table:

p-0034<tables id="TABLE-US-00001" num="00001"><table frame="none" colsep="0" rowsep="0" pgwide="1"><tgroup align="left" colsep="0" rowsep="0" cols="1"><colspec colname="1" colwidth="406pt" align="center" /><tbody valign="top"><row><entry namest="1" nameend="1" align="center" rowsep="1" /></row><row><entry>Network Relocation Types</entry></row></tbody></tgroup><tgroup align="left" colsep="0" rowsep="0" cols="10"><colspec colname="1" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="2" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="3" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="4" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="5" colwidth="35pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="6" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="7" colwidth="35pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="8" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="9" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><colspec colname="10" colwidth="42pt" align="left" /><tbody valign="top"><row><entry>Network</entry><entry /><entry>2</entry><entry>3</entry><entry>4</entry><entry>5</entry><entry>6</entry><entry>7</entry><entry>8</entry><entry>9</entry></row><row><entry>Element</entry><entry>1</entry><entry>2G/3G to</entry><entry>LTE to</entry><entry>LTE to</entry><entry>WiMAX to</entry><entry>LTE to</entry><entry>3GPP2 to</entry><entry>2G/3G to</entry><entry>WLAN to</entry></row><row><entry>Types</entry><entry>Inter eNB</entry><entry>LTE</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry><entry>WiMAX</entry><entry>LTE</entry><entry>3GPP2</entry><entry>LTE</entry><entry>WLAN</entry><entry>3GPP</entry></row><row><entry namest="1" nameend="10" align="center" rowsep="1" /></row><row><entry>Source RAN</entry><entry>eNB source</entry><entry>2G/3G RAN</entry><entry>EUTRAN</entry><entry>EUTRAN</entry><entry>WiMAX</entry><entry>EUTRAN</entry><entry>3GPP2 RAN</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry><entry>WLAN RAN</entry></row><row><entry /><entry /><entry /><entry /><entry /><entry>RAN</entry><entry /><entry /><entry>RAN</entry></row><row><entry>Target RAN</entry><entry>eNB target</entry><entry>EUTRAN</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry><entry>WIMAX</entry><entry>EUTRAN</entry><entry>3GPP2</entry><entry>EUTRAN</entry><entry>WLAN</entry><entry>2G/3G RAN</entry></row><row><entry /><entry /><entry /><entry>RAN</entry><entry>RAN</entry><entry /><entry>RAN</entry><entry /><entry>RAN</entry></row><row><entry>Source GW</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>WiMAX</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>3GPP2 PDN</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry><entry>WLAN PDN</entry></row><row><entry /><entry>source</entry><entry>MME/UPE</entry><entry /><entry /><entry>PDN GW</entry><entry /><entry>GW</entry><entry>MME/UPE</entry><entry>GW</entry></row><row><entry>Target GW</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry><entry>WiMAX</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>3GPP2</entry><entry>MME/EPS</entry><entry>WLAN</entry><entry>2G/3G</entry></row><row><entry /><entry>target</entry><entry /><entry>MME/UPE</entry><entry>PDN GW</entry><entry /><entry>PDN GW</entry><entry /><entry>PDN GW</entry><entry>MME/UPE</entry></row><row><entry>UE</entry><entry>support LTE</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry><entry>support</entry></row><row><entry /><entry /><entry>2G/3G, LTE</entry><entry>2G/3G,</entry><entry>WIMAX,</entry><entry>WiMAX,</entry><entry>LTE,</entry><entry>LTE, 3GPP2</entry><entry>2G/3G,</entry><entry>2G/3G,</entry></row><row><entry /><entry /><entry /><entry>LTE</entry><entry>LTE</entry><entry>LTE</entry><entry>3GPP2</entry><entry /><entry>WLAN</entry><entry>WLAN</entry></row><row><entry namest="1" nameend="10" align="center" rowsep="1" /></row></tbody></tgroup></table></tables>

p-0035A home subscriber server (HSS) or an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server <b>131</b> stores policy and tracking/location information for subscribers to a wireless telecommunications service. A logical inter-access system (IAS) anchor <b>191</b> terminates IP access service and manages inter-system IP service termination, inter-system routing and billing, and IP bearer services. Physically, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> could be collocated with a gateway. The source RAN <b>111</b> and the target RAN <b>112</b> are typically furnished with multiple radio channel resources. Each RAN <b>111</b> and <b>112</b> measures its radio channel resources and reports the utilization of its radio channel resources to its respective gateway <b>121</b> and <b>122</b>, which then pass this information on to the IAS anchor <b>191</b> via internet protocols.

p-0036In an embodiment, an inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy controller (IRC) <b>193</b>, which can be a separate entity or can be collocated with the IAS anchor <b>191</b>, connects the gateways in the inter-RAT/inter-network system via internet protocols and manages the inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy functionality. In an embodiment, the IRC <b>193</b> receives radio resource utilization status reports from the source gateway <b>121</b> and the target gateway <b>122</b>, maintains inter-RAT/inter-network system overlay topology information, maintains inter-RAT/inter-network radio resource utilization status, and keeps the status updated when new reports arrive. In addition, the IRC <b>193</b> can monitor and detect core network element failures, retrieve from and store in the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> information on identities of the UE <b>101</b> and RANs <b>111</b> and <b>112</b>, and analyze and provide a network element failure service backup strategy.

p-0037The IRC <b>193</b> can also determine if the redundancy backup function should be triggered when a core network element failure is detected. If the available radio resources are insufficient, the backup function may not be triggered. If a decision is made to perform a core network redundancy backup, the IRC <b>193</b> can trigger the system backup function by sending the gateways <b>121</b> and <b>122</b> redundancy backup request messages that contain the identifier of the target RAN <b>112</b> and information on the impacted UE <b>101</b>. In addition, the IRC <b>193</b> can report redundancy events to the network management system or to the network operations center (NOC) and assist in network system load balancing management.

p-0038In an embodiment, the source gateway <b>121</b> supports the inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy functionality by receiving the radio resource utilization reports from the source RAN <b>111</b> and passing the reports to the IRC <b>193</b>. The source gateway <b>121</b> also maintains gateway-related inter-RAT/inter-network overlay information. In addition, the source gateway <b>121</b> can receive redundancy backup request messages from IRC <b>193</b>, process the messages, and determine which RAN be used as the backup target RAN <b>112</b>. This might be done through use of the RAN overlay mapping list. The source gateway <b>121</b> might then issue backup messages to the target RAN <b>112</b>.

p-0039In an embodiment, if the source RAN <b>111</b> receives a redundancy backup command from the target RAN <b>112</b>, the source RAN <b>111</b> can process the relocation of the UE <b>101</b> to the target RAN <b>112</b> by issuing a redundancy backup command to the UE <b>101</b> that contains the identifier for the target RAN <b>112</b>. The target RAN <b>112</b> can receive a redundancy backup command from the target gateway <b>122</b> and, if a signaling path between the target RAN <b>112</b> and the source RAN <b>111</b> exists, the target RAN <b>112</b> can issue a redundancy backup command to the source RAN <b>111</b> with information for UE relocation. If a signaling path between the target RAN <b>112</b> and the source RAN <b>111</b> does not exist, the target RAN <b>112</b> might broadcast the redundancy backup command to the UE <b>101</b> directly via a paging channel. The target RAN <b>112</b> can then receive the UE's response and continue the service.

p-0040For simplicity, only the non-roaming system architecture is presented in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. Also, it should be noted that the lines connecting the elements in the drawing can represent bearer connections, signaling connections, or both. Traditionally, a different style of line is used to represent each type of connection. However, for the sake of clarity in the drawing, bearer connections and signaling connections are both represented by solid lines in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>. The dashed lines connecting the UE <b>101</b> to the source RAN <b>111</b> and the target RAN <b>112</b> are intended to represent the fact that the UE <b>101</b> might be connected to the source RAN <b>111</b> at a first time and to the target RAN <b>112</b> at a second time via the air interface.

p-0041When the core network elements in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> are in service and under normal operation and a decision is made to hand a call over to a different RAT, the UE <b>101</b> can be handed over from the source RAN <b>111</b> to the target RAN <b>112</b> following the handover procedures shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, which will be familiar to one of skill in the art. At event <b>201</b>, IP bearer service is established between the UE <b>101</b> and a traditional IAS anchor <b>141</b> via the source RAN <b>111</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b>. Since <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a depiction of a prior art procedure, the traditional IAS anchor <b>141</b> is not related to the IRC <b>193</b> as is the case in the embodiment of the IAS anchor <b>191</b> in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>.

p-0042At event <b>202</b>, the source (serving) RAN <b>111</b> initiates a handover to the target RAN <b>112</b>. At event <b>203</b>, the source (serving) RAN <b>111</b> issues a handover request including the handover target to its source gateway <b>121</b>. At event <b>204</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> selects the target gateway <b>122</b> serving the target RAN <b>112</b> as the target gateway that the UE <b>101</b> is going to use. At event <b>205</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> sends a handover preparation request to the target RAN <b>112</b> via the selected target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>206</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> establishes bearer resources for the UE <b>101</b>. At event <b>207</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> confirms the handover preparation to the source gateway <b>121</b> via the selected target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>208</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> commands the UE <b>101</b> to change to the target RAN <b>112</b>.

p-0043At event <b>209</b>, for quality of service, in cases where the source RAN <b>111</b> is a third generation (3G) element, the source RAN <b>111</b> may start to forward data to its 3G source gateway <b>121</b>. Then the source gateway <b>121</b> forwards the data to the target RAN <b>112</b> via the target gateway <b>122</b>. Depending on the required quality of service, other actions might be taken by the source RAN <b>111</b> for data forwarding to minimize data loss. At event <b>210</b>, in cases where the source RAN <b>111</b> is a 3G element, the source RAN <b>111</b> may send a forward PDN context message to its source gateway <b>121</b>. The message may contain information for data transfer continuation by a new RAN for lossless relocation.

p-0044At event <b>211</b>, a radio bearer is established between the UE <b>101</b> and the target RAN <b>112</b>. At event <b>212</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> informs the source gateway <b>121</b> about handover completion. At event <b>213</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> acknowledges the handover completion to the target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>214</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> updates the route from the traditional IAS anchor <b>141</b> to itself. Mobile terminated packets can then arrive at the target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>215</b>, resources in the source system (RAN <b>111</b> and gateway <b>121</b>) are released. At event <b>216</b>, IP bearer service is established between the UE <b>101</b> and the traditional IAS anchor <b>141</b> via the target RAN <b>112</b> and the target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>217</b>, the UE <b>101</b> may need to perform a tracking area update with the new serving gateway <b>122</b>. This triggers the target gateway <b>122</b> to register with the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>.

p-0045The above discussion has focused on a situation where the core network elements are in service and under normal operation. An embodiment of an inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy mechanism to back up a failed core element will now be considered. Specifically, a failure of a serving gateway such as the source gateway <b>121</b> will be discussed. Under such a failure, before a RAN starts to shut down its services to the UEs, it may be desirable for the UEs to still have radio access to the serving RAN for a given time period, even though the signaling and user plane services from an uplink may be interrupted.

p-0046Failures of a serving RAN are not addressed in this disclosure because if any failure occurs to a serving RAN, the impacted UEs will lose their radio access (radio link failure) immediately and, after a very short time period (e.g., a few seconds), the UEs will start to search for other available RANs for services. Failure of the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> is not addressed in this disclosure because the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> normally has a redundant counterpart in most deployments. In this disclosure, it is also assumed that the IAS anchor <b>191</b> has a redundant counterpart since it connects to all the gateways in the inter-RAT/inter-network system. Therefore, failure of the IAS anchor <b>191</b> is not addressed in this disclosure.

p-0047Returning to <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, it will be assumed for the remainder of this disclosure that the source gateway <b>121</b> has failed. In this situation, if there is no redundancy mechanism to back up the services for the source gateway <b>121</b>, services for the UEs <b>101</b> serviced by the serving RANs under the source gateway <b>121</b> might be shut down as the serving RANs lose data and control. The beginning of service shut down may take some time. During this time period, the UE services could be transferred to the available radio resources in the other RANs overlaid on the impacted serving RANs. The transfer of UE services could include a handover of services for active UEs <b>101</b> or cell reselection for idle UEs <b>101</b>.

p-0048The following issues and possible solutions might arise in relation to backing up the services of a failed serving gateway using mobility mechanisms: serving gateway failure detection, decision making on redundancy backup mobility procedure trigger, centralized radio resources management entity, information required for target RAN (or cell) determination for the UEs, UE information retrieval and UE classification, modifications to mobility procedures for redundancy backup, classification of mobility procedures for redundancy backup, dual mode UE and inter-RAT UE neighbor cell measurement, UE monitoring the target RAN paging channel, and UE responses to a redundancy backup command having a target cell ID/RAN ID. Each of these issues and possible solutions will now be considered in turn.

p-0049Serving Gateway Failure Detection

p-0050In general, keep-alive type query and response messages might be used between network elements. When a timer times out and/or after a certain number of retries fail, a network element failure is considered to have been detected. A serving gateway failure can be detected by the RANs under the serving gateway and/or by the other core network elements to which the serving gateway connects, in particular by the IAS anchor <b>191</b>.

p-0051Decision Making on Redundancy Backup Mobility Procedure Trigger

p-0052Service continuity in case of network element failure may require knowledge of the total required resources and the total available resources. If the available resources are limited, the redundancy backup mobility procedure should typically not be triggered. In general, the capacity for providing service by this mechanism might be known from the wireless network call profiles such as inter-RAT/inter-network handoff types and their percentages, together with the capacities of the RANs and the core networks in the network planning phase.

p-0053Centralized Radio Resources Management Entity

p-0054In an inter-RAT/inter-network system, a centralized entity for management of radio resources may be necessary for utilization and optimization of network-wide resources. Since the IAS anchor <b>191</b> might logically connect to all or most of the gateways in an inter-RAT/inter-network system, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> can be an appropriate location, physically or logically, to implement such a function. The centralized radio resources management entity can be referred to as the inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy controller (IRC) <b>193</b>. It may be desirable that the IRC <b>193</b> have the capability to keep track of the real time resource utilization status for all the elements in the network, detect core network element failures, store (or retrieve from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>) the needed UE information for service continuity redundancy backup, make decisions on the redundancy backup mobility procedure trigger with available resources utilization, and distribute network load balancing information to the related network entities for use in network load balancing activities.

p-0055Information Required for Target RAN (or Cell) Determination for the UEs

p-0056The determination of the target RAN (or cell) for each UE as a backup when a core element fails might require the following basic information from the system: a gateway list; a RAN list for each gateway; an overlay RAN list for each RAN; the radio resources in use and the radio resources available for each RAN; an idle UE list and an active UE list for each service RAN; a neighbor cell list for each UE; real time measurement reports on the neighbor cells for each UE together with a Qoffset for each cell; and UE service policies, such as the priorities, capabilities, and similar parameters assigned by the operators.

p-0057The above information can be shared, transferred, and/or stored among the network element entities according to known procedures for splitting functions between RANs and the core network. Based on the available information, the core network (particularly the IRC <b>193</b>) could determine the target RAN for each UE and inform the UE of the determination in case of a service backup via mobility trigger. Details on how to utilize the information is known to one of skill in the art. The RAN parameters useful in determining the target RANs could be: RAN_id, Radio, gateway_id, overlay RAN_id(s) (or cell-ids), resource_in_use, resource_available, etc. An example of such information usage is given below.

p-0058Other factors that might also be considered in the determination of the target RAN for each UE include radio signaling conditions, the Qoffset for the neighbor cells, network load balancing, and other information provided by the core. In addition, cell ranking criteria and cell selection criteria can be applied.

p-0059If the information in the IRC <b>193</b> regarding the target cell/RAN IDs for the UEs is derived from the transfer and storage of normal operation information, then the IRC <b>193</b> can specify the target cell/RAN IDs for the UEs in one or more redundancy backup commands. If the IRC <b>193</b> cannot obtain the information on the UEs' target cell/RAN IDs from normal operation information, then the IRC <b>193</b> can use the RAN IDs and gateway IDs that are overlaid on the UEs' source RANs as candidate target RAN IDs and gateway IDs for use in the redundancy backup commands.

p-0060UE Information Retrieval and UE Classification

p-0061When a serving gateway fails, UE profiles might be lost. The UE information can be stored during normal operations in the core (e.g., in the IRC <b>193</b>) for redundancy handling use. However, this can impact real time traffic under normal operation. It should be noted that each UE in the system is registered with its gateway ID and its tracking area ID (RAN ID) in the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>. When a serving gateway fails, in general the UE IDs and location information for all the UEs under that gateway can be queried from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> by providing the gateway ID. In the case of massive UE file retrieval for a large capacity gateway, the UE information retrieval can be performed on a step-by-step basis for each RAN to prevent signaling jam. Correspondingly, the service backup procedure can also be performed in a step-by-step sequence.

p-0062UEs can be classified into two categories, idle and active. Normally, when a serving gateway fails, the idle UEs can be steered to other RANs according to resource availability. To minimize the service interruption time for an active UE, the UE's profile as well as real time information such as the UE's contexts might need to be transferred and stored. However, the transfer of real time information among the network entities could create excessive signaling traffic. This may not be desirable. In practice, based on the UE subscribed options, the real time information might be transferred and stored only for high priority UEs. For low priority UEs, longer service interruption and/or service re-establishment time periods may be tolerated during a service recovery.

p-0063Modifications to Mobility Procedures for Redundancy Backup

p-0064Under normal mobility handling procedures, the target system might communicate with the source system for UE cell reselection or handover. The embodiments of the mobility handling procedures triggered by service backup, as described herein, may entail some adjustments to the normal mobility handling procedures. The adjustments might include network element failure detection, multiple UE mobility triggers, multiple UE mobility handling, and management of a possible lack of information forwarding between the source system and the target system. In addition, there may be a need for a real time transfer to the core, during normal operation, of information related to the active UEs that require service continuity under network element failure conditions. Target RAN information based on a network load balancing analysis from the core to the RANs/UEs may also be needed. To prevent a possible signaling traffic jam caused by redundancy backup commands to a group of UEs, UE-by-UE sequential messaging may be used.

p-0065Classification of Mobility Procedures for Redundancy Backup

p-0066Redundancy backup can be implemented in different manners depending on whether a UE is in the active state or the idle state. For idle UEs, the mobility procedures for redundancy backup can involve reselection and/or steering of networks and/or cells for a group of UEs. For active UEs, the mobility procedures for redundancy backup can involve inter-RAT handover for a group of UEs.

p-0067In addition, depending on how the gateway failure was detected and whether any signaling paths to the impacted serving RANs are still available, different approaches can be taken to extend inter-RAT/inter-network mobility functionalities and ensure UE service continuity. The approaches can be classified based on the following two cases.

p-0068In a first case, the serving RAN has a list of UEs that it is serving and the serving RAN detects the serving gateway failure. In this case, the serving RAN acts as a trigger for redundancy backup, and one of two methods might be used to achieve redundancy backup. In a first method, which can be referred to as method <b>1</b>-<b>1</b>, the serving RAN sends redundancy backup handover commands to its active UEs and sends redundancy reselection commands to its idle UEs with the target RAN information. Since the source RAN (or serving RAN) directly triggers the redundancy backup, network balancing can be considered depending on whether the source RANs have network-wide load balancing information from the core (or the IRC <b>193</b>). A second method, which can be referred to as method <b>1</b>-<b>2</b>, involves waiting for redundancy mobility procedure triggers from the network (or the IRC <b>193</b>) as in the second case, below. However, since the serving RAN typically does not have a list of UEs that it is serving, this first case may not be applicable.

p-0069In a second case, the core network (or the IRC <b>193</b>) detects the serving gateway failure. In a first method under this case, which can be referred to as method <b>2</b>-<b>1</b>, the network (or the IRC <b>193</b>) does not have any signaling paths to the serving RANs. In such a situation, the network can initiate a redundancy backup handover (or relocation) command (for active UEs) and a redundancy reselection command (for idle UEs) to the determined target RANs via the determined target gateways. The target RANs can then send the relocation (handover) command and the reselection command via paging broadcasts to the impacted UEs together with the target RANs' information. To save battery usage that might be needed for the UEs to continuously monitor the target RANs' paging channels under normal operation, the serving RANs might send out a “start monitoring target RAN paging” type message to the UEs after the source gateway failure detection.

p-0070In a second method under this case, which can be referred to as method <b>2</b>-<b>2</b>, the network (or the IRC <b>193</b>) does have signaling paths to the serving RANs. In such a situation, the IRC <b>193</b> can initiate a redundancy backup handover (or relocation) command (for active UEs) and a redundancy reselection command (for idle UEs). The commands can be sent to the serving RANs via the determined target gateways. Each serving RAN can then send redundancy backup commands to its UEs with the target RAN information.

p-0071Dual Mode and Multiple Technology UE and Inter-RAT UE Neighbor Cell Measurement

p-0072Since this disclosure considers inter-RAT mobility, dual mode and multiple technology UEs are assumed. That is, the UEs under consideration can operate in a plurality of technologies that might include both the circuit switched mode and the packet switched mode. The inter-RAT neighbor cell list of a UE might therefore consist of cell ID/public land mobile network (PLMN) ID pairs. The PLMN IDs can be stored in the UE's subscriber identity module (SIM) or can be broadcast by the network. Following known telecommunications standards for a multi-RAT UE, the network can control the identification and measurement of cells belonging to other RATs. The measurements can be configured to be periodic or can be event driven when the serving cell/RAN radio channel signal is inadequate. Alternatively or in addition, the measurements can be ordered by the network.

p-0073UE Monitoring the Target RAN Paging Channel

p-0074For the cases where the signaling paths to the source (serving) RAN of the failed (serving) gateway are all disconnected, broadcast paging might be used to issue the redundancy backup commands. This assumes that the UEs are monitoring the target RAN/cell paging channels. To save the UEs' batteries, longer inactive and shorter active monitoring time periods could be used. Alternatively, the UEs could start to monitor the target RAN paging channels from an instruction issued by the source (serving) RAN when the serving RAN detects the serving gateway's problem.

p-0075UE Responses to a Redundancy Backup Command Having a Target Cell ID/RAN ID

p-0076If a UE receives a redundancy backup command from a broadcast paging channel, and if the received target cell ID is in the UE's neighbor cell list and the cell's channel conditions are satisfied, then the UE can respond to the message and move to the given target cell. Otherwise, the UE may not respond.

p-0077It should be noted that, if the redundancy command is issued by a paging channel, the target RAN/cell radio conditions may not be checked first; the UE may need to check the RAN/cell radio conditions to determine the move. If a redundancy command is issued via a traffic channel, the target radio conditions might have already been checked.

p-0078Depending on the UE's existing capabilities and the inter-RAT/inter-network mobility procedures, the mobility procedures as modified for redundancy backup may not have any functional impact on the UE. Any impact on the UE that does occur is expected to be small.

p-0079The above issues and possible solutions for service continuity via inter-RAT/inter-network mobility handling when a core network element fails in an inter-RAT/inter-network system can be implementation dependent.

p-0080Examples of procedures for a network trigger according to method <b>2</b>-<b>1</b> and method <b>2</b>-<b>2</b> mentioned above are presented in the following. Examples of network trigger redundancy backup procedures using inter-RAT/inter-network mobility mechanisms for active UEs will be considered first. In a first network trigger situation, there are no signaling paths from the IAS anchor <b>191</b> to the impacted RANs. The following is a high level summary for an embodiment of a redundancy backup procedure from the network for method <b>2</b>-<b>1</b>.

p-0081When network element (gateway) failure occurs, gateway_i for example, the failure might be detected by the IRC <b>193</b>. The IRC <b>193</b> will check if the total available radio resources in the identified target RANs are sufficient for a back-up. If the resources are not sufficient, redundancy backup is not performed. If the resources are sufficient, the IRC <b>193</b> triggers the redundancy backup function by retrieving the impacted UE IDs from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> and sending a group of redundancy backup request messages to the identified target gateways that have RANs overlaid with the source RANs under the source gateway_i. Also at this point, to save battery power, the serving RANs could send out a “start monitoring target RAN paging” type message to the UEs, rather than the UEs continuously monitoring the target RANs' paging channels.

p-0082Upon receiving one of the redundancy backup request messages, each target gateway, gateway_m for example, checks its RAN list to find the RANs (targets) overlaid with the source RANs under source gateway_i. Then the target gateway_m sends a redundancy backup request message to each of its target RANs together with information on the source RANs under the source gateway_i. The identification of the target RANs under the target gateway_m can be done by the IRC <b>193</b> as part of the check of available resources. Each target RAN under gateway_m, upon receiving a redundancy backup message with the source RANs under gateway_i, can send redundancy backup relocation broadcasting paging messages to the UEs indicating the source RAN IDs (or source RAN cell IDs) and the candidate target RAN IDs (or target RAN cell IDs) to which the UEs could relocate.

p-0083For each paging response from the impacted UEs with their UE IDs, the target RAN can issue relocation commands to the UEs to start the relocation (handover) process. A target RAN can relocate the responding UEs until all of the UEs are relocated or until a redundancy backup relocation timer times out or the available radio resources reach a limit. The target RAN can then send a redundancy backup relocation response message to its serving gateway. Redundancy backup relocation response messages can be sent from all of the target RANs to their gateways and then from the target gateways to the IRC <b>193</b> upon redundancy backup completion.

p-0084This redundancy backup procedure is illustrated in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>. At event <b>301</b>, IP bearer service is established between the UE <b>101</b> and the IAS anchor <b>191</b> via the source RAN <b>111</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b>. In this case, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> includes the IRC <b>193</b> as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, and actions described in relation to the IAS anchor <b>191</b> might actually occur in relation to the IRC <b>193</b>. At event <b>302</b>, keep-alive messages are sent in a timely manner between the IAS anchor <b>191</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b> for gateway status detection.

p-0085At event <b>303</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> fails. At event <b>304</b>, a gateway keep-alive response fails and a keep-alive timer times out. At event <b>305</b>, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> detects the failure of the source gateway <b>121</b>. Then a check is made whether there are sufficient available radio resources from the overlaid radio networks to back up the services of the source gateway <b>121</b>. At event <b>306</b>, the available resource check is successful. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> retrieves information on IDs and locations (RANs) for the impacted UEs from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> by providing the failed gateway ID. At this point, to save battery power, the serving RANs might send out a “start monitoring target RAN paging” type message to the UEs after the detection of the source gateway failure, rather than the UEs continuously monitoring the target RANs' paging channels.

p-0086At event <b>307</b>, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> triggers the redundancy backup procedure for the source gateway <b>121</b> by sending redundancy backup request messages to all of the gateways overlaid on the source gateway <b>121</b>, according to the source gateway's gateway overlay list. Information on the UEs is included. At event <b>308</b>, upon receiving the redundancy backup request message, each overlay gateway to the source gateway <b>121</b> starts to map its RANs overlaid with the RANs in the source gateway <b>121</b>. In this example, the target gateway RANs overlay with the source gateway RANs, and the target RAN <b>112</b> is found.

p-0087At event <b>309</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a redundancy backup request message to each of its RANs overlaid with the source gateway RANs. In this case, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends the redundancy backup request message to the target RAN <b>112</b>. At event <b>310</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> sends a redundancy backup relocation request message to the source RAN's UEs via broadcast paging. At event <b>311</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> starts a redundancy backup action timer. At event <b>312</b>, the UE <b>101</b> sends a response back after receiving the redundancy relocation paging. At event <b>313</b>, for each relocation paging response received from an impacted UE, the target RAN <b>112</b> sends a relocation command to the UE. At event <b>314</b>, upon receiving the relocation command, the UE <b>101</b> starts its relocation to the target RAN <b>112</b> and then a bearer is established for the radio and the core.

p-0088At event <b>315</b>, a user plane route update for the UE <b>101</b> with the IAS anchor <b>191</b> occurs. At event <b>316</b>, the UE <b>101</b> releases the previous bearer resources if the resources are still on hold. At event <b>317</b>, the UE <b>101</b> starts its IP service with the new RAN <b>112</b>. At event <b>318</b>, the UE <b>101</b> may need to update its tracking area with the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>. At event <b>319</b>, for each redundancy relocation response received, events <b>312</b> through <b>318</b> are repeated until all the UEs are relocated, the backup timer times out, or the target RAN <b>112</b> reaches its available radio resource limit. At event <b>320</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> stops the backup process and sends redundancy backup response message to its target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>321</b>, upon receiving responses from all the RANs connecting to the target gateway <b>122</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a response message to the IAS anchor <b>191</b> to complete the target gateway's backup function. It should be noted that the IAS anchor's request for redundancy backup for the source gateway <b>121</b> is typically completed after the IAS anchor <b>191</b> receives responses from all the requested gateways.

p-0089In a second network trigger situation, there are signaling paths from the IAS anchor <b>191</b> to the impacted RANs. The following is a high level summary for a redundancy backup process from the network for method <b>2</b>-<b>2</b> described above. When a failure of a network element (a gateway) occurs, gateway_i for example, the failure is detected by the IRC <b>193</b>. The IRC <b>193</b> checks whether the total available radio resources from the identified target RANs are sufficient for back-up. If the resources are not sufficient, there is no redundancy backup. If the resources are sufficient, the IRC <b>193</b> triggers the redundancy backup function by retrieving a list of impacted UEs from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> and sending a group of redundancy backup request messages to the identified target gateways that are overlaid with the source gateway_i.

p-0090Upon receiving a redundancy backup request message, each target gateway, gateway_m for example, checks which of its RANs are overlaid with the source RANs under gateway_i. Then the gateway_m sends a redundancy backup initiation request message to its target RANs together with information on the UEs and their source RANs to back up. Each target RAN under gateway_m, upon receiving a redundancy backup initiation message, sends a redundancy backup initiation message to each of the source RANs with their UE information. Each source RAN under gateway_i, upon receiving a redundancy backup initiation message from a target RAN under a different gateway, starts UE relocations with each of the target RANs. One UE might be relocated in a specified time interval, such as every 200 milliseconds, to prevent a relocation messaging jam. Redundancy complete messages can then be sent from the source RANs to the target RANs, then to the target gateways, and finally ending at the IRC <b>193</b> upon redundancy backup completion (or service continuity relocation completion).

p-0091This redundancy mechanism procedure is illustrated in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>. At event <b>401</b>, IP bearer service is established between the UE <b>101</b> and the IAS anchor <b>191</b> via the source RAN <b>111</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b>. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> again includes the IRC <b>193</b>, as in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, and actions described in relation to the IAS anchor <b>191</b> again might actually occur in relation to the IRC <b>193</b>. At event <b>402</b>, keep-alive messages are sent in a timely manner between the IAS anchor <b>191</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b> for status detection.

p-0092At event <b>403</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> fails. At event <b>404</b>, a keep-alive timer for the source gateway status test times out. At event <b>405</b>, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> detects the failure of the source gateway <b>121</b>. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> then checks if there are sufficient available radio resources from the overlay radio networks to back up the source gateway <b>121</b>. At event <b>406</b>, the available resource check is successful. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> retrieves information on the IDs and locations (RANs) for the impacted UEs from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> by providing the failure gateway ID to the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>.

p-0093At event <b>407</b>, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> triggers the redundancy backup procedure to back up the source gateway <b>121</b> by sending redundancy backup request messages to all of the identified overlay gateways of the source gateway <b>121</b>. Information on the UEs is included. At event <b>408</b>, upon receiving one of the redundancy backup request messages, each identified overlay gateway of the source gateway <b>121</b> starts to map its RANs overlaid with the RANs in the source gateway <b>121</b>. In this example, the target gateway's RAN <b>112</b> overlays the source gateway's RAN <b>111</b>. At event <b>409</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a redundancy backup initiation request message to each of its RANs overlaid with the source gateway's RANs. In this example, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends the redundancy backup initiation request message to the target RAN <b>112</b>.

p-0094At event <b>410</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> sends a redundancy backup initiation request message with UE information to the source RAN <b>111</b>. Each target RAN in the target gateway <b>122</b> overlaid with the source RANs, upon receiving a redundancy backup initiation request message, sends a redundancy backup initiation message to each of the source RANs that it overlays to initialize the backup. At event <b>411</b>, upon receiving a request from a target RAN, each source RAN under the source gateway <b>121</b> starts UE service backup by sending a relocation command with the target RAN ID for the UEs to move to. One UE might be relocated in a specified time interval, such as every 200 milliseconds, to prevent a massive relocation messaging jam.

p-0095At event <b>412</b>, in the case where the source RAN <b>111</b> is 3G, the source RAN <b>111</b> may forward the UE data to the target RAN <b>112</b> to minimize data loss. At event <b>413</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> establishes core bearer resources for the UE <b>101</b>. At event <b>414</b>, a radio bearer is established between the UE <b>101</b> and the target RAN <b>112</b>. At event <b>415</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> informs the target gateway <b>122</b> about handover completion for the UE <b>101</b>. At event <b>416</b>, resources in the source system (RAN <b>111</b> and gateway <b>121</b>) for the UE <b>101</b> are released. At event <b>417</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> updates the route from the IAS anchor <b>191</b> to itself. Mobile terminated packets arrive at the new gateway <b>122</b>.

p-0096At event <b>418</b>, IP bearer service is established between the UE <b>101</b> and the IAS anchor <b>191</b> via the target RAN <b>112</b> and the target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>419</b>, the UE <b>101</b> may need to perform a tracking area update with the target gateway <b>122</b>. This can trigger the target gateway <b>122</b> to register with the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>. At event <b>420</b>, events <b>411</b> through <b>419</b> are repeated for all the UEs commanded to move to the target RAN <b>112</b> until all of the UEs are relocated or until the given resource limit for the target RAN <b>112</b> is reached. It should be noted that the message flows in the repeated events <b>411</b> through <b>419</b> can be simplified for UE group actions on user plane route updates, resource releases, and tracking area update procedures. At event <b>421</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> acknowledges to the target gateway <b>122</b> the redundancy backup completion for the source RAN <b>111</b>. At event <b>422</b>, upon receiving redundancy backup completion messages from all of its requested target RANs, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a redundancy backup response to the IAS anchor <b>191</b>. Redundancy backup is complete upon the IAS anchor <b>191</b> receiving response messages from all of the requested target gateways.

p-0097An example of redundancy backup procedures using inter-RAT/inter-network mobility mechanisms for idle UEs will now be provided. In the following example procedure for idle UEs, network/cell reselection follows method <b>2</b>-<b>1</b> described above, and there are no signaling paths from the IAS anchor <b>191</b> to the impacted RANs. This redundancy network/cell reselection procedure is illustrated in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>. At event <b>501</b>, the UE <b>101</b> is camped with the source RAN <b>111</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b>. At event <b>502</b>, keep-alive messages are sent in a timely manner between the IAS anchor <b>191</b> and the source gateway <b>121</b> for gateway status detection. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> again includes the IRC <b>193</b>, as in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, and actions described in relation to the IAS anchor <b>191</b> again might actually occur in relation to the IRC <b>193</b>.

p-0098At event <b>503</b>, the source gateway <b>121</b> fails. At event <b>504</b>, the gateway keep-alive response fails and the keep-alive timer times out. At event <b>505</b>, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> detects the failure of the source gateway <b>121</b>. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> then checks if there are sufficient available radio resources from the overlaid radio networks in order to back up the services of the source gateway <b>121</b>. At event <b>506</b>, the available resource check is successful. The IAS anchor <b>191</b> retrieves information on IDs and locations (RANs) for the impacted UEs from the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> by providing the failed gateway ID to the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>. At this point, to save battery power, the serving RANs might send out a “start monitoring target RAN paging” type message to the UEs after detection of the source gateway failure, rather than the UEs continuously monitoring the target RANs' paging channels.

p-0099At event <b>507</b>, the IAS anchor <b>191</b> triggers the redundancy backup procedure to back up the source gateway <b>121</b> by sending redundancy reselection request messages to the identified overlay gateways of the source gateway <b>121</b>, according to the source gateway's gateway overlay list. UE information can be included. At event <b>508</b>, upon receiving one of the redundancy reselection request messages, each overlay gateway of the source gateway <b>121</b> starts to map its RANs overlaid with the RANs in the source gateway <b>121</b>. In this example, the target gateway RANs overlay the source gateway RANs, and the target RAN <b>112</b> is found.

p-0100At event <b>509</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a redundancy reselection request message to each of its RANs overlaid with the source gateway RANs. In this case, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a redundancy reselection request message to the target RAN <b>112</b>. At event <b>510</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> sends a redundancy backup relocation request message to the source RAN's UEs via broadcast paging. At event <b>511</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> starts a redundancy group network/cell reselection action timer. At event <b>512</b>, the UE <b>101</b> sends a network registration request to the target RAN <b>112</b> and then to the target gateway <b>122</b> after receiving the redundancy relocation paging and a target cell signal strength check.

p-0101At event <b>513</b>, the UE <b>101</b> may be authenticated in the target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>514</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> registers itself as the new gateway serving the UE <b>101</b> at the HSS/AAA <b>131</b>. The HSS/AAA <b>131</b> deletes the old context for the UE <b>101</b>. At event <b>515</b>, the HSS/AAA <b>131</b> confirms the registration of the new gateway <b>122</b> for the UE <b>101</b>. At event <b>516</b>, a user plane route update with the IAS anchor <b>191</b> for the UE <b>101</b> is performed, and the mobile terminated packets arrive at the new gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>517</b>, the new gateway <b>122</b> confirms the network registration for the UE <b>101</b>.

p-0102At event <b>518</b>, on the target RAN <b>112</b>, for each redundancy relocation response received, events <b>512</b> to <b>517</b> are repeated until all of the UEs are relocated or until the reselection timer times out or the target RAN <b>112</b> reaches its available radio resource limit. At event <b>519</b>, the target RAN <b>112</b> stops the backup process and sends a redundancy reselection response message to the target gateway <b>122</b>. At event <b>520</b>, upon receiving responses from all of the RANs connecting to the target gateway <b>122</b>, the target gateway <b>122</b> sends a response message to the IAS anchor <b>191</b> regarding the completion of the target gateway's group reselection function. It should be noted that the IAS anchor's request for redundancy network/cell reselection for the source gateway <b>121</b> is typically completed after the IAS anchor <b>191</b> receives responses from all of the requested gateways.

p-0103<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> illustrates a wireless communications system including an embodiment of the UE <b>101</b>. The UE <b>101</b> is operable for implementing aspects of the disclosure, but the disclosure should not be limited to these implementations. Though illustrated as a mobile phone, the UE <b>101</b> may take various forms including a wireless handset, a pager, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a tablet computer, or a laptop computer. Many suitable devices combine some or all of these functions. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the UE <b>101</b> is not a general purpose computing device like a portable, laptop or tablet computer, but rather is a special-purpose communications device such as a mobile phone, wireless handset, pager, or PDA. In another embodiment, the UE <b>101</b> may be a portable, laptop or other computing device. The UE <b>101</b> may support specialized activities such as gaming, inventory control, job control, and/or task management functions, and so on.

p-0104The UE <b>101</b> includes a display <b>602</b>. The UE <b>101</b> also includes a touch-sensitive surface, a keyboard or other input keys generally referred as <b>604</b> for input by a user. The keyboard may be a full or reduced alphanumeric keyboard such as QWERTY, Dvorak, AZERTY, and sequential types, or a traditional numeric keypad with alphabet letters associated with a telephone keypad. The input keys may include a trackwheel, an exit or escape key, a trackball, and other navigational or functional keys, which may be inwardly depressed to provide further input function. The UE <b>101</b> may present options for the user to select, controls for the user to actuate, and/or cursors or other indicators for the user to direct. The UE <b>101</b> may further accept data entry from the user, including numbers to dial or various parameter values for configuring the operation of the UE <b>101</b>. The UE <b>101</b> may further execute one or more software or firmware applications in response to user commands. These applications may configure the UE <b>101</b> to perform various customized functions in response to user interaction. Additionally, the UE <b>101</b> may be programmed and/or configured over-the-air, for example from a wireless base station, a wireless access point, or a peer UE <b>101</b>.

p-0105Among the various applications executable by the UE <b>101</b> are a web browser, which enables the display <b>602</b> to show a web page. The web page may be obtained via wireless communications with a wireless network access node, a cell tower, a peer UE <b>101</b>, or any other wireless communication network or system <b>600</b>. The network <b>600</b> is coupled to a wired network <b>608</b>, such as the Internet. Via the wireless link and the wired network <b>608</b>, the UE <b>101</b> has access to information on various servers, such as a server <b>610</b>. The server <b>610</b> may provide content that may be shown on the display <b>602</b>. Alternately, the UE <b>101</b> may access the network <b>600</b> through a peer UE <b>101</b> acting as an intermediary, in a relay type or hop type of connection.

p-0106<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> shows a block diagram of the UE <b>101</b>. While a variety of known components of UEs <b>101</b> are depicted, in an embodiment a subset of the listed components and/or additional components not listed may be included in the UE <b>101</b>. The UE <b>101</b> includes a digital signal processor (DSP) <b>702</b> and a memory <b>704</b>. As shown, the UE <b>101</b> may further include an antenna and front end unit <b>706</b>, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver <b>708</b>, an analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b>, a microphone <b>712</b>, an earpiece speaker <b>714</b>, a headset port <b>716</b>, an input/output interface <b>718</b>, a removable memory card <b>720</b>, a universal serial bus (USB) port <b>722</b>, a short range wireless communication sub-system <b>724</b>, an alert <b>726</b>, a keypad <b>728</b>, a liquid crystal display (LCD), which may include a touch sensitive surface <b>730</b>, an LCD controller <b>732</b>, a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera <b>734</b>, a camera controller <b>736</b>, and a global positioning system (GPS) sensor <b>738</b>. In an embodiment, the UE <b>101</b> may include another kind of display that does not provide a touch sensitive screen. In an embodiment, the DSP <b>702</b> may communicate directly with the memory <b>704</b> without passing through the input/output interface <b>718</b>.

p-0107The DSP <b>702</b> or some other form of controller or central processing unit operates to control the various components of the UE <b>101</b> in accordance with embedded software or firmware stored in memory <b>704</b> or stored in memory contained within the DSP <b>702</b> itself. In addition to the embedded software or firmware, the DSP <b>702</b> may execute other applications stored in the memory <b>704</b> or made available via information carrier media such as portable data storage media like the removable memory card <b>720</b> or via wired or wireless network communications. The application software may comprise a compiled set of machine-readable instructions that configure the DSP <b>702</b> to provide the desired functionality, or the application software may be high-level software instructions to be processed by an interpreter or compiler to indirectly configure the DSP <b>702</b>.

p-0108The antenna and front end unit <b>706</b> may be provided to convert between wireless signals and electrical signals, enabling the UE <b>101</b> to send and receive information from a cellular network or some other available wireless communications network or from a peer UE <b>101</b>. In an embodiment, the antenna and front end unit <b>706</b> may include multiple antennas to support beam forming and/or multiple input multiple output (MIMO) operations. As is known to those skilled in the art, MIMO operations may provide spatial diversity which can be used to overcome difficult channel conditions and/or increase channel throughput. The antenna and front end unit <b>706</b> may include antenna tuning and/or impedance matching components, RF power amplifiers, and/or low noise amplifiers.

p-0109The RF transceiver <b>708</b> provides frequency shifting, converting received RF signals to baseband and converting baseband transmit signals to RF. In some descriptions a radio transceiver or RF transceiver may be understood to include other signal processing functionality such as modulation/demodulation, coding/decoding, interleaving/deinterleaving, spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fourier transforming (IFFT)/fast Fourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefix appending/removal, and other signal processing functions. For the purposes of clarity, the description here separates the description of this signal processing from the RF and/or radio stage and conceptually allocates that signal processing to the analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> and/or the DSP <b>702</b> or other central processing unit. In some embodiments, the RF Transceiver <b>708</b>, portions of the Antenna and Front End <b>706</b>, and the analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> may be combined in one or more processing units and/or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

p-0110The analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> may provide various analog processing of inputs and outputs, for example analog processing of inputs from the microphone <b>712</b> and the headset <b>716</b> and outputs to the earpiece <b>714</b> and the headset <b>716</b>. To that end, the analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> may have ports for connecting to the built-in microphone <b>712</b> and the earpiece speaker <b>714</b> that enable the UE <b>101</b> to be used as a cell phone. The analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> may further include a port for connecting to a headset or other hands-free microphone and speaker configuration. The analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> may provide digital-to-analog conversion in one signal direction and analog-to-digital conversion in the opposing signal direction. In some embodiments, at least some of the functionality of the analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b> may be provided by digital processing components, for example by the DSP <b>702</b> or by other central processing units.

p-0111The DSP <b>702</b> may perform modulation/demodulation, coding/decoding, interleaving/deinterleaving, spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fourier transforming (IFFT)/fast Fourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefix appending/removal, and other signal processing functions associated with wireless communications. In an embodiment, for example in a code division multiple access (CDMA) technology application, for a transmitter function the DSP <b>702</b> may perform modulation, coding, interleaving, and spreading, and for a receiver function the DSP <b>702</b> may perform despreading, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. In another embodiment, for example in an orthogonal frequency division multiplex access (OFDMA) technology application, for the transmitter function the DSP <b>702</b> may perform modulation, coding, interleaving, inverse fast Fourier transforming, and cyclic prefix appending, and for a receiver function the DSP <b>702</b> may perform cyclic prefix removal, fast Fourier transforming, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. In other wireless technology applications, yet other signal processing functions and combinations of signal processing functions may be performed by the DSP <b>702</b>.

p-0112The DSP <b>702</b> may communicate with a wireless network via the analog baseband processing unit <b>710</b>. In some embodiments, the communication may provide Internet connectivity, enabling a user to gain access to content on the Internet and to send and receive e-mail or text messages. The input/output interface <b>718</b> interconnects the DSP <b>702</b> and various memories and interfaces. The memory <b>704</b> and the removable memory card <b>720</b> may provide software and data to configure the operation of the DSP <b>702</b>. Among the interfaces may be the USB interface <b>722</b> and the short range wireless communication sub-system <b>724</b>. The USB interface <b>722</b> may be used to charge the UE <b>101</b> and may also enable the UE <b>101</b> to function as a peripheral device to exchange information with a personal computer or other computer system. The short range wireless communication sub-system <b>724</b> may include an infrared port, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11 compliant wireless interface, or any other short range wireless communication sub-system, which may enable the UE <b>101</b> to communicate wirelessly with other nearby mobile devices and/or wireless base stations.

p-0113The input/output interface <b>718</b> may further connect the DSP <b>702</b> to the alert <b>726</b> that, when triggered, causes the UE <b>101</b> to provide a notice to the user, for example, by ringing, playing a melody, or vibrating. The alert <b>726</b> may serve as a mechanism for alerting the user to any of various events such as an incoming call, a new text message, and an appointment reminder by silently vibrating, or by playing a specific pre-assigned melody for a particular caller.

p-0114The keypad <b>728</b> couples to the DSP <b>702</b> via the interface <b>718</b> to provide one mechanism for the user to make selections, enter information, and otherwise provide input to the UE <b>101</b>. The keyboard <b>728</b> may be a full or reduced alphanumeric keyboard such as QWERTY, Dvorak, AZERTY and sequential types, or a traditional numeric keypad with alphabet letters associated with a telephone keypad. The input keys may include a trackwheel, an exit or escape key, a trackball, and other navigational or functional keys, which may be inwardly depressed to provide further input function. Another input mechanism may be the LCD <b>730</b>, which may include touch screen capability and also display text and/or graphics to the user. The LCD controller <b>732</b> couples the DSP <b>702</b> to the LCD <b>730</b>.

p-0115The CCD camera <b>734</b>, if equipped, enables the UE <b>101</b> to take digital pictures. The DSP <b>702</b> communicates with the CCD camera <b>734</b> via the camera controller <b>736</b>. In another embodiment, a camera operating according to a technology other than Charge Coupled Device cameras may be employed. The GPS sensor <b>738</b> is coupled to the DSP <b>702</b> to decode global positioning system signals, thereby enabling the UE <b>101</b> to determine its position. Various other peripherals may also be included to provide additional functions, e.g., radio and television reception.

p-0116<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> illustrates a software environment <b>802</b> that may be implemented by the DSP <b>702</b>. The DSP <b>702</b> executes operating system drivers <b>804</b> that provide a platform from which the rest of the software operates. The operating system drivers <b>804</b> provide drivers for the node hardware with standardized interfaces that are accessible to application software. The operating system drivers <b>804</b> include application management services (“AMS”) <b>806</b> that transfer control between applications running on the UE <b>101</b>. Also shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> are a web browser application <b>808</b>, a media player application <b>810</b>, and Java applets <b>812</b>. The web browser application <b>808</b> configures the UE <b>101</b> to operate as a web browser, allowing a user to enter information into forms and select links to retrieve and view web pages. The media player application <b>810</b> configures the UE <b>101</b> to retrieve and play audio or audiovisual media. The Java applets <b>812</b> configure the UE <b>101</b> to provide games, utilities, and other functionality. A component <b>814</b> might provide functionality related to service continuity.

p-0117The system described above may be implemented on any general-purpose computer with sufficient processing power, memory resources, and network throughput capability to handle the necessary workload placed upon it. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> illustrates a typical, general-purpose computer system suitable for implementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. The computer system <b>1300</b> includes a processor <b>1332</b> (which may be referred to as a central processor unit or CPU) that is in communication with memory devices including secondary storage <b>1338</b>, read only memory (ROM) <b>1336</b>, random access memory (RAM) <b>1334</b>, input/output (I/O) devices <b>1340</b>, and network connectivity devices <b>1312</b>. The processor <b>1332</b> may be implemented as one or more CPU chips.

p-0118The secondary storage <b>1338</b> is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data and as an over-flow data storage device if RAM <b>1334</b> is not large enough to hold all working data. Secondary storage <b>1338</b> may be used to store programs that are loaded into RAM <b>1334</b> when such programs are selected for execution. The ROM <b>1336</b> is used to store instructions and perhaps data that are read during program execution. ROM <b>1336</b> is a non-volatile memory device that typically has a small memory capacity relative to the larger memory capacity of secondary storage. The RAM <b>1334</b> is used to store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to both ROM <b>1336</b> and RAM <b>1334</b> is typically faster than to secondary storage <b>1338</b>.

p-0119I/O devices <b>1340</b> may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, or other well-known input devices.

p-0120The network connectivity devices <b>1312</b> may take the form of modems, modem banks, ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards, serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radio transceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA) and/or global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio transceiver cards, and other well-known network devices. These network connectivity devices <b>1312</b> may enable the processor <b>1332</b> to communicate with the Internet or one or more intranets. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor <b>1332</b> might receive information from a network or might output information to a network in the course of performing the above-described method steps.

p-0121Such information, which may include data or instructions to be executed using processor <b>1332</b> for example, may be received from and outputted to the network, for example, in the form of a computer data baseband signal or signal embodied in a carrier wave. The baseband signal or signal embodied in the carrier wave generated by the network connectivity devices <b>1312</b> may propagate in or on the surface of electrical conductors, in coaxial cables, in waveguides, in optical media, for example optical fiber, or in the air or free space. The information contained in the baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave may be ordered according to different sequences, as may be desirable for either processing or generating the information or transmitting or receiving the information. The baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave, or other types of signals currently used or hereafter developed, referred to herein as the transmission medium, may be generated according to several methods well known to one skilled in the art.

p-0122The processor <b>1332</b> executes instructions, codes, computer programs, or scripts that it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk (these various disk-based systems may all be considered secondary storage <b>1338</b>), ROM <b>1336</b>, RAM <b>1334</b>, or the network connectivity devices <b>1312</b>. While only one processor <b>1332</b> is shown, multiple processors may be present. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as executed by a processor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, or otherwise executed by one or multiple processors.

p-0123The following are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes: 3^rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Report (TR) 23.882 and Technical Specification (TS) 36.300.

p-0124While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

p-0125Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled or communicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicating through some interface, device, or intermediate component, whether electrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.

p-0126Example of Using Available Information for Redundancy Backup Trigger Determination

p-0127It is assumed that in the inter-RAT/inter-network system, each RAN maintains an active UE list and an idle UE list for the UEs in service. Each UE maintains a neighbor cell list. Since each neighbor cell belongs to a certain RAN, from the UE neighbor cell lists, the UEs can be classified into target RAN groups with satisfied radio conditions. The following are UE target RAN group classification examples:

p-0128<maths id="MATH-US-00001" num="00001"><math overflow="scroll"><mtable><mtr><mtd><mrow><mrow><mrow><mo>{</mo><mrow><mrow><mi>UE_</mi><mo></mo><mn>11</mn></mrow><mo>;</mo><mi>…</mi><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.6em" height="0.6ex" /></mstyle><mo>;</mo><mrow><mi>UE_</mi><mo></mo><mn>1</mn><mo></mo><mi>n</mi></mrow></mrow><mo>}</mo></mrow><mo>∈</mo><mrow><mi>RAN_</mi><mo></mo><mn>11</mn></mrow><mo>∈</mo><mrow><mi>gateway_</mi><mo></mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></mrow><mo>;</mo></mrow></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd><mrow><mrow><mrow><mo>{</mo><mrow><mrow><mi>UE_</mi><mo></mo><mn>21</mn></mrow><mo>;</mo><mi>…</mi><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.6em" height="0.6ex" /></mstyle><mo>;</mo><mrow><mi>UE_</mi><mo></mo><mn>2</mn><mo></mo><mi>n</mi></mrow></mrow><mo>}</mo></mrow><mo>∈</mo><mrow><mi>RAN_</mi><mo></mo><mn>23</mn></mrow><mo>∈</mo><mrow><mi>gateway_</mi><mo></mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></mrow><mo>;</mo></mrow></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd><mi>⋯</mi></mtd></mtr><mtr><mtd><mrow><mrow><mo>{</mo><mrow><mi>UE_m1</mi><mo>;</mo><mi>…</mi><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.6em" height="0.6ex" /></mstyle><mo>;</mo><mi>UE_mn</mi></mrow><mo>}</mo></mrow><mo>∈</mo><mi>RAN_m5</mi><mo>∈</mo><mrow><mi>gateway_m</mi><mo>.</mo></mrow></mrow></mtd></mtr></mtable></math></maths>

p-0129The target RAN group classifications can be used as the target RAN information in the redundancy backup handover (relocation) commands to the UEs.

p-0130In addition, the following information and steps can be used by the IRC <b>193</b> for inter-RAT/inter-network redundancy backup control:

p-0131In the IRC <b>193</b>, there is a gateway list which lists all the gateways connected to it, or:

p-0132<br />GW_LIST={gateway_—1; . . . ; gateway_N}.

p-0133For each gateway on the GW_LIST, there is an overlay gateway list in which the RANs of the gateways are overlaid and/or intersect with the RANs of this gateway. For example, gateway_i may be overlaid with gateway_j and gateway_k. The overlay gateway list to gateway_i can be presented as:

p-0134<br />gateway_i_OVERLAY={gateway_j; gateway_k}.

p-0135For each gateway on GW_LIST, there is a RAN list. For example, the RAN list for gateway_i can be denoted by:

p-0136<br />gateway_i_RAN_List={RAN_i1; . . . , RAN_iN}.

p-0137This list can also reside in gateway_i.

p-0138Each RAN node has parameters indicating its key characteristics for network load balancing and network redundancy applications. For example, for RAN_ip, its key parameter set can be:

p-0139<br />RAN_ip_Prams={RAN_ip_id; network_id; gateway_id; radio_resource_in_use_ip; available_radio_resource_ip; cell_ip_—1; . . . cell_ip_n; . . . }.

p-0140The RAN_ip_Prams can be updated in real time. Each RAN_ip to be backed up might require radio_resource_in_use_ip radio resources. When gateway_i fails or is out of service, then

p-0141<maths id="MATH-US-00002" num="00002"><math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mrow><mi>total_required</mi><mo></mo><mi>_radio</mi><mo></mo><mi>_resources</mi><mo></mo><mi>_to</mi><mo></mo><mi>_backup</mi><mo></mo><mi>_gateway</mi><mo></mo><mi>_i</mi></mrow><mo>=</mo><mrow><munderover><mo>∑</mo><mrow><mi>j</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow><mi>N</mi></munderover><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.3em" height="0.3ex" /></mstyle><mo></mo><mrow><mi>radio_resource</mi><mo></mo><mi>_in</mi><mo></mo><mi>_use</mi><mo></mo><mi>_ij</mi></mrow></mrow></mrow></math></maths>

p-0142For each RAN node in the system, there is an overlay RAN list. For example, the overlay RAN list for RAN_ip can be:

p-0143<br />RAN_ip_OVERLAY={RAN_m2; RAN_k3; RAN_f5}.

p-0144Here, the first index for a RAN ID is used for the gateway sequence number. The second index for a RAN ID is used as the RAN sequence number in that gateway. In this example, at any instant, the available ratio resources for the RAN_ip from its overlay RANs can be obtained as:

p-0145<br />available_ratio_resources_for_RAN_—<i>ip</i>=available_radio_resource_—<i>m</i>2+available_radio_resource_—<i>k</i>3+available_radio_resource_—<i>f</i>5.

p-0146When gateway_i fails,

p-0147<maths id="MATH-US-00003" num="00003"><math overflow="scroll"><mrow><mrow><mi>total_available</mi><mo></mo><mi>_radio</mi><mo></mo><mi>_resources</mi><mo></mo><mi>_to</mi><mo></mo><mi>_backup</mi><mo></mo><mi>_gateway</mi><mo></mo><mi>_i</mi></mrow><mo>=</mo><mrow><munderover><mo>∑</mo><mrow><mi>j</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow><mi>N</mi></munderover><mo></mo><mstyle><mspace width="0.3em" height="0.3ex" /></mstyle><mo></mo><mrow><mi>available_radio</mi><mo></mo><mi>_resources</mi><mo></mo><mi>_for</mi><mo></mo><mi>_RAN</mi><mo></mo><mi>_ij</mi><mo>*</mo><mi>α_ij</mi></mrow></mrow></mrow></math></maths>

p-0148where α_ij≦1 is a factor used to save some radio resources for RAN_ij besides backing up.