METHOD OF MAINTAINING A RADIO LINK BETWEEN A BASE STATION AND A MOBILE STATION, AND BASE STATION USED TO IMPLEMENT SAID METHOD

摘要

The invention relates to a method of maintaining a radio link between a base station and a mobile station and to the base station used to implement said method. According to the invention, three types of channels are established from the base station to the mobile station, namely: a traffic channel, a first associated signalling channel for the periodic transmission of control information, and a second associated signalling channel for the occasional transmission of control information. The mobile station updates a counter upon receipt of blocks on the first signalling channel. In addition, the mobile terminal terminates the radio link when the counter reaches a determined value and re-starts said counter at a starting value in response to the receipt of a channel re-allocation command on the second signalling channel. When a pre-defined criterion has been fulfilled, the base station then transmits a channel re-allocation command over the second signalling channel indicating to the mobile station to remain on the same traffic and signalling channels.