METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ASSIGNING A TEMPORARY MOBILE GROUP IDENTITY IN A MULTIMEDIA BROADCAST/MULTICAST SERVICE

摘要

A Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (MBMS) server (122) in a packet data communication system (100) generates and assigns Temporary Mobile Group Identities (TMGIs) to MBMS services, thereby serving as a central repository for the TMGIs. In response to receiving a request to participate in an MBMS service, the MBMS server generates a TMGI (400). The MBMS server assigns the TMGI to the MBMS service and stores the TMGI in association with information relating to the MBMS service to produce a stored TMGI. The MBMS server further conveys the TMGI to a source of the received request, thereby providing for a distribution of the TMGI to mobile stations (102-104) subscribed to the MBMS service. The subscribed mobile stations may then use the TMGI to receive data packets associated with the MBMS service.