SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOBILITY MANAGEMENT

摘要

A telecommunications system comprises a plurality of access networks, each of which can provide a facility for mobile terminals to communicate data in accordance with a communications service when in a coverage area provided by the access network. The telecommunications system also comprises a mobility manager which receives network evaluation messages from a mobile terminal which provide an indication of a quality of communications available via a communications link with one or more of the plurality of access networks, which are currently available for communicating data. The mobility manager identifies one of the access networks with which the mobile terminal should be affiliated for communicating the data via a communications link provided with the access network, and communicates an instruction to the mobile terminal to change affiliation to the identified access network. The mobility manager identifies the access network with which the mobile terminal should become affiliated in accordance with an amount of power, which the mobile -terminal may consume when communicating via the identified access network. In this way, service continuity can be provided to the mobile terminal whilst reducing power consumption.