CONTROL/PILOT CHANNEL RESELECTION BETWEEN CELLS BELONGING TO DIFFERENT REGISTRATION AREAS

摘要

In a TDMA or CDMA cellular telephone network (10) including a plurality of registration areas (32), and in instances of mobile station (16) cell reselection between a cell (12) located in a first registration area and a cell located in a second registration area, the mobile station processes control or pilot channel signal strength measurements in view of both a conventional reselection hysteresis (30) and an additional registration hysteresis (36). Reselection is performed by the mobile station when the control or pilot channel signal strength measured (26) with respect to the second registration area cell exceeds the control or pilot channel signal strength measured (24) with respect to the first registration area cell by the sum total of both the reselection hysteresis and the registration hysteresis. This makes it more difficult to obtain an inter-registration area cell reselection to the benefit of minimizing the likelihood of incurring unnecessary consumption of valuable cellular air interface and system resources due to mobile station transit back and forth between the two registration areas.