METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING OVERLAY TO SUPPORT POST-SECOND GENERATION CELLULAR SERVICES

摘要

An overlay to an existing cellular switching structure to provide post-second generation services without the need to make modifications or updates to the existing infrastructure is disclosed. The overlay preserves second generation switching while providing post-second generation services. The overlay includes a post-second generation infrastructure for providing processing of post-second generation communication services, a first interface, coupled to the post-second generation infrastructure, for providing an access interface to a base station subsystem and processing base station subsystem signaling based upon a type of service and a type of call flow associated with the received signaling from the base station subsystem, and a second interface, coupled to the post-second generation infrastructure, for providing an inter-system interface to a signaling network and processing inter-system signaling between the signaling network, the first interface, the existing switching infrastructure and the post-second generation infrastructure. The first interface comprises an access interface manager, the access interface manager outputting access interface signaling based on base station subsystem signaling received from the base station subsystem according to a type of service and a type of call flow associated with the received base station subsystem signaling. The access interface manager further comprises a base station subsystem manager and a protocol interworking manager and the second interface includes an inter-system interface manager. The post-second generation infrastructure includes a general packet radio service system including a packet handoff manager, a serving general packet radio service support node, and a gateway general packet radio service support node.