INTER-MSC HANDOVER IN A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

摘要

There is provided a method and apparatus for handling handover of a mobile terminal in a mobile communications network. The mobile communications network comprises both radio access network and core network portions. Handover is from a source cell served by a source Mobile Switching Center to a target cell served by a target Mobile Switching Center. The source Mobile Switching Center generates a request for handover message and sends it to a Handover Routing Router. At the Handover Routing Router, an identity of the target cell or a target node is determined from the request, and the target cell or node identity is mapped to the address of the target Mobile Switching Center. The request for handover is then sent from the Handover Routing Router to the target Mobile Switching Center.