METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UPDATING LOCATIONS OF DORMANT MOBILE STATIONS

摘要

The invention concerns methods, a mobile station and a network for updating locations of mobile stations to support fast call setup and reduce paging resource utilisation in wireless access networks. The method comprises the steps of : - starting a first timer when the mobile station enters a dormant state - while the first timer is counting and prior to its reaching a prefined value T1, sending a layer 2 location update message whenever the MS performs an idle handoff, or sending an MS page to the sector indicated by the most recent layer 2 location update message received from the MS, - starting a second timer when the first timer reaches T1 - while the second timer is running and prior to its reaching a predefined value T2, sending a layer 2 location update message whenever a further criterion is met, or sending an MS page to the sectors surroiunding the sector indicated in the most recently received layer 2 location update message consistent with the further criterion used, and - after the second timer has reached T2, sending no further layer 2 location update messages, or sending an MS page message to all network sectors. In a second embodiment, a sinle timer, which is reset after reaching T1, is employed in a similar location update-method.