Abstract: A method of optimising the operation of a cellular radio communication system in which the demands made by users of the system are monitored and resources are allocated to the users accordingly.

Abstract: A Smart Card has an electronic circuit connected to a source of potential capable of destroying at least a portion of the electronic circuit. The potential is normally short circuited, but the path of the short circuit traverses a frangible portion of the card. When the portion is broken, so potential from the source is applied to destroy the portion of the electronic circuit.

Abstract: A telecommunications network system (10), formed of multiple interconnected nodes (16-22, 26-34, 50-58), is shown in FIG. 1. At least some of the nodes are provided with application spaces (DPASs, 70-94) into which specific programs can be downloaded and run. The application space (DPASs, 70-94), realized by control logic and memory, takes control of managing specific programs and reporting results arising from execution of the specific programs. The application spaces support specific functionality dependent upon the functionality of the node, and support real-time downloading and running of code. Resultant data acquired from running the specific programs is correlated between nodes to produce highly pertinent management data that is communicated to a management device, such as an OMC (48), for analysis and fault identification/performance optimization.

Abstract: To reduce interference in a communication system (10), a communication unit (42-50) is arranged to initiate establishment of a radio frequency communication with a base station (26-38) by transmitting a system access request on a dedicated, wide area control channel. Upon receipt of the system access request, a base station (32) of the communication system of FIG. 1 responds by forming a narrowbeam control channel to the communication unit and transmitting system control information to the communication unit on the narrowbeam control channel, the system control information transmitted from the array of antenna elements and arranged to identify a narrowbeam communication resource for use in the radio communication. The communication unit (42-50), upon receiving the system control information, then configures itself to utilise the narrowbeam communication resource for the radio communication.

Abstract: A communication system (28), comprises a master device (44) and slave device (30). Consequential to negotiations within the system (28) and having regard to system capacity and a relative hierarchy that exists between on-going communications, a bandwidth used for an on-going communication between the master device (44) and the slave device (30) is modified in proportion to a substantially instantaneous data rate requirement of the communication. As such, the system allows fluctuations in the amount of information, transmitted in a fixed time through an optimization of an available and dynamically varying bandwidth, while biasing the communication resource in relation to the relative hierarchy.

Abstract: To alleviate the constraints imposed on communication system management by the assignment of dedicated ranges of MSISDNs and IMSIs to each particular home location register (HLR.sub.1, HLR.sub.2, HLR.sub.N), the present invention provides an ability to separate IMSIs and MSISDNs between HLR platforms by providing at least two databases (80-90) separated from one another and indexed in terms of ranges of MSISDNs and ranges of IMSIs, as illustrated in FIG. 5. A cross-reference (92, 95) is both stored within a particular MSISDN and a particular IMSI to maintain an association therebetween, thereby allowing access to subscription information stored in at least one of the particular MSISDN and the particular IMSI.

Abstract: A method for determining a handover for a mobile station in a multicellular communication system including the steps of measuring received signal parameters received from a serving cell and a plurality of neighboring cells, comparing received signal parameters with a variable threshold value for each of the plurality of neighbor cells, measuring the amount of time, or the number of times, the received signal parameters are above the threshold value for each of the plurality of neighbor cells, and determining handover based on the measurement.