Abstract: A method for designing a soft handoff region in a wireless communications system. An inner region having an outer edge defined by a first radius is selected, wherein a mobile station communicates only with the base station within the inner region and has a selected outage probability at the outer edge of the inner region. Next, a soft handoff region having an outer edge defined by a second radius and an inner edge defined by the first radius is selected, wherein the mobile station within the soft handoff region has the selected outage probability. Actual coverage region having an outer edge defined by a third radius, wherein the third radius is selected to match soft handoff regions of other cells adjacent to the cell.

Abstract: A method for managing forward link power control within a code-division multiple access mobile telephone communication network is disclosed. A mobile telephone communication network constantly monitors for a frame erasure reported by a mobile telephone. In response to the detection of a frame erasure, the mobile telephone's digital gain assigned to the mobile telephone by the mobile telephone communication network is increased by a step-up value to close the forward link. This step-up value may be different each time depending on the speed and position of the mobile telephone. Afterwards, the digital gain is continuously reduced in an exponential manner until another frame erasure is reported.

Abstract: The mobility of mobile subscribers within a wireless digital communications system is estimated based on highway maps and traffic data. Cells within the network are modelled as nodes connected by edges where neighboring cells are connected by roads. Each edge has two edge weight components representing traffic flow from one cell to the other and vice versa. The edge weight components are calculated from terrain factors based on the size or capacity of the roads connecting the two cells and the total traffic within the subject cell, which information may be obtained from commercial geographic databases and/or government agencies. The resulting edge weight represents an expected number of handoffs between the two cells. The problem of partitioning cells among available switches within the network is thus reduced to the purely mathematical problem of minimizing the total edge weights of edges intersected by the partition boundaries.

Abstract: A method for extending hard-handoff boundaries within a mobile telephone communications network is disclosed. There are multiple cells within a CDMA cellular/PCS telephone communications network, in which some of the cells operate under two separate carrier frequencies. In order to extend the hard-handoff boundary of a boundary cell that operates under two carrier frequencies, a neighboring cell adjacent to the boundary cell but operating under only one of the two carrier frequencies of the boundary cell must first be located. Then, a repeater with a fixed or adjustable delay is placed between the boundary cell and the neighboring cell such that the hard-handoff boundary of the boundary cell is extended.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for producing an audio tag in response to calling line identification information. The method includes the steps of, receiving calling line identification information from a telephone line, searching a directory, using at least some of the calling line identification information as a search parameter to locate a directory record corresponding to at least some of the calling line identification information, communicating information held in the directory record or in the calling line identification information to a text to speech converter to produce the audio tag.

Abstract: A method and system in a communications network for managing multipath calls by establishing virtual communications nodes for effectively handling the automatic routing of communications transactions initiated within the communications network. A communications transaction is initiated from an originating node to a desired terminating node. The communications transaction is then automatically routed from the originating node to an alternative terminating node, in response to a predetermined control parameter, by associating a first virtual communications node with a first terminal of the desired terminating node, and associating a second virtual communications node with a second terminal of the desired terminating node.