Abstract: A mobile station communicating with a first radio network, such as a WLAN, may detect that it is communicating with an access point located at a perimeter of a coverage area of the first radio network rather than communicating with an access point located within an interior of the coverage area. The mobile station might further detect one or both of first and second directional signals transmitted from the access point. In response, the mobile station might perform one or more predetermined actions, such as checking the availability of a radio network other than the WLAN, performing a handoff, sounding an alarm or some other action.

Abstract: A mobile station stores power-limit data that identifies one or more defined locations and associates each defined location with a respective transmit power limit. The one or more defined locations may, for example, correspond to locations of high-priority signal transmitters, such as transmitters that transmit signals used for public safety communications. In response to a trigger condition, the mobile station determines whether its current location is proximate to any of the one or more defined locations in the power-limit data. The trigger condition may occur when a current transmit power level of the mobile station is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. If the mobile station's current location is proximate to a defined location in the power-limit data, the mobile station controls its transmit power level so that it does not exceed a transmit power limit associated with the defined location.

Abstract: A method and system for allocating control channel resources. After initially allocating control channel elements to user equipment (UE), a processing unit may engage in a modification process in an effort to optimize the allocation, which may involve changing a number of control channel elements, taking into account transmission power headroom and predicted error rate.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems according to which an access terminal intelligently accounts for differences in respective distances between itself and various access nodes, so as to more accurately estimate the C/I ratio of signals received from a serving access node. According to the method, the access terminal calculates a delta of (i) a serving distance between the access terminal and the serving access node and (ii) a neighboring distance between the access terminal and a neighboring access node. The access terminal then selects a C/I-evaluation time period based at least in part on the calculated delta, which may generally be used by the access terminal to select the C/I-evaluation time period such that this time period only includes time during which the access terminal is likely to have received signals emitted by both the serving access node and the neighboring access node.

Abstract: In systems and methods of providing a notification message in a wireless communication system, a message notifier is received at a processing node in wireless communication system based on a first message from a sender. The message notifier comprises sender information. The sender information is matched to a contact entry of the recipient to generate a matching criteria. Based on the matching criteria a paging channel power is determined for a notification message to be sent to the recipient wireless device.

Abstract: A method and corresponding system is disclosed for enhanced resource allocation in a wireless communication system. According to the method, when an idle wireless device seeks to initiate a call in a given coverage area, the device will provide with its initiation request to the serving radio network a motion specification indicating an extent of movement of the device, based on the device's tracking of its own movement. The network will then use that motion specification provided with the initiation request as a basis to determine whether to select a resource to allocate for the call in the given coverage area based on resource implementation in at least one neighboring coverage area or whether to instead select the resource to allocate without regard to resource allocation in the at least one neighboring coverage area.

Abstract: A radio access network (RAN) may transmit on a plurality of channels, each channel made up of a plurality of subcarriers. Each subcarrier defines a sequence of frames, each frame respectively defining a sequence of time slots. The RAN may transmit symbols in each time slot at at least a nominal power level on each of the subcarriers. The RAN may also determine a subcarrier that is likely to cause adjacent carrier interference between a first wireless device and a second wireless device. The RAN may also transmit null symbols in a first time slot of an initial frame on the determined subcarrier with a power level less than the nominal power level. Additionally the RAN may transmit subsequent symbols with the respective power level of each of the subsequent symbols is successively increased for each subsequent timeslot, for at least the duration of the initial frame.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for a wireless communication device (WCD) to utilize one or more search windows to capture both an earliest-received signal and a strongest received signal. In an embodiment, in a first time period, the WCD detects an arrival time of an earliest-received signal and an arrival time of a strongest received signal in one or more search windows for each of at least one set of signals. The WCD then centers a first search window based on the arrival time of the earliest-received signal and centers a second search window based on the arrival time of the strongest received signal for each of the at least one set of signals. In a second time period, the WCD searches for signals using the first and second search windows.

Abstract: A method and corresponding apparatus or system is disclosed for managing operating in a cellular wireless communication system. The method involves detecting a threshold transition of user devices (generally any wireless communication devices) that are actively operating in a given wireless coverage area into a state of soft handoff between the given coverage area and another coverage area, and perhaps a resulting threshold increase in total transmission power in the given coverage area, and responsively forcing out of the given coverage area at least one user device that is in soft handoff with the given coverage area. The method may thereby help to avoid or minimize an undesirable cyclic power increase effect that could lead to power overload.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and systems according to which an access terminal intelligently accounts for variations in a set of C/I measurements taken by the access terminal during a pre-determined period of time, so as to more accurately select a desirable forward-link data rate. According to the method, the access terminal makes a first determination that a forward packet error rate (FPER) is greater than an FPER threshold, and makes a second determination that a last-requested forward-link data rate is not the lowest data rate among a plurality of requestable forward-link data rates. The access terminal then responsively identifies a carrier-to-interference-(C/I)-key value based at least in part on one or more C/I measurements taken by the access terminal, and then uses that identified C/I-key value to select—and then request service from a serving access node at—a next-requested forward-link data rate that is less than the last-requested forward-link data rate.

Abstract: A call contention manager mediates between call contentions that occur when two callers attempt to place a telephone call to one another at approximately the same time. The call contention manager may be implemented in or separate from a mobile switching center. The manager detects a call contention between two calls, and it determines whether the call contention is taking place in a window of time that follows shortly after at least one of the callers was involuntarily dropped from a call. If a call contention occurs within such a call drop window, it is resolved according to a post-drop protocol that enables a connection between the callers. If, however, the call contention occurs outside any call drop window, it is resolved without establishing a connection between the callers, for example by sending one or more of the contending calls to voicemail.

Abstract: A radio access network (RAN) may receive signals with a plurality of antennas. Each antenna may receive a respective incoming signal. Based on the received signals, the RAN may determine an interference factor that relates to interference across the various respective incoming signals received by each antenna. The RAN may also use various criteria and formulas to calculate the interference factor. Once the RAN determines the interference factor, the RAN may determine to operate the receiver in one of two modes. The RAN may operate either in a Maximal Ratio Combining mode or in an Interference Rejection Combining mode. The RAN may periodically re-determine the interference factor and responsively re-determine the operation mode.

Abstract: A radio access network (RAN) may receive a call setup request from a wireless communication device (WCD). The call setup request may indicate that the WCD supports a first media codec. The RAN may obtain a set of candidate wireless coverage areas for serving the WCD. A first subset of the candidate wireless coverage areas may support the first media codec, and a second subset of the candidate wireless coverage areas might not support the first media codec. The RAN may assign traffic channels to the WCD, such that the assigned traffic channels include traffic channels from at least two of the first subset of the candidate wireless coverage areas, but do not include traffic channels from any of the second subset of the candidate wireless coverage areas. The RAN may communicate with the WCD substantially simultaneously via the assigned traffic channels using the first media codec.

Abstract: A system and method for processing an access request by a wireless device to access an IP data network is provided. An access request from a wireless device is received and denied a predetermined number of times, and the wireless device is granted a limited access to the IP data network. When the access request from wireless device is authenticated, the wireless device is granted an unlimited access to the IP data network.

Abstract: A method and corresponding system is provided for adjusting the size of tracking areas. In one embodiment of the method, a pool of RAN entities determines that there has been a reduction in the number of RAN entities in the pool of RAN entities, and in response to the determining, the pool of RAN entities reduces the size of at least one tracking area assigned to the pool of RAN entities. In another embodiment of the method, a pool of RAN entities determines that there has been an increase in the number of RAN entities in the pool of RAN entities, and in response to the determining, the pool of RAN entities increases the size of at least one tracking area assigned to the pool of RAN entities.

Abstract: A method, apparatus, and system are provided for invoking third-party call control via a cable-television host device. A video signal is received into a cable-television host device, the video signal comprising an identifier associated with a first telephony endpoint. A command is received into the cable-television host device, the command requesting establishment of a communication session between the first telephony endpoint and a second telephony endpoint. A message is transmitted via a packet-switched network from the cable-television host device to a network entity, wherein the message comprises content based at least in part on the identifier, and wherein the message further comprises content for causing the network entity to invoke third-party call control to attempt to establish the communication session between the first telephony endpoint and the second telephony endpoint.

Abstract: A two-stage method is used to page a target mobile station. A wireless network transmits an initial page message into a plurality of wireless coverage areas (e.g., the wireless coverage areas defined by a paging zone) that includes the target mobile station's last reported location. The initial page message is received by a plurality of mobile stations, which then transmit a plurality of responses. The plurality of responses includes a target response from the target mobile station. The wireless network determines the target wireless coverage area that received the target response and then transmits a supplemental page message into the target wireless coverage area. The initial page message may be a very short message, such as a page indicator, that does not identify the target mobile station. The supplemental page message may be a longer message that identifies the target mobile station and the reason for the page.

Abstract: A mobile station receives forward link signals and transmits reverse link signals for a communication session conducted via a wireless network. A controller maintains a reverse-active set that defines which sectors of the wireless network are used to receive the reverse link signals. When the mobile station transmits a request signal requesting the communication session, the controller may create the reverse-active set to include the sector that received the request signal with the highest signal strength. During the communication session, the signal strengths of the reverse link signals may be monitored in each of a plurality of sectors to obtain reverse-link signal strengths. The controller may maintain the reverse-active set based on the reverse-link signal strengths, adding sectors that report reverse-link signal strengths greater than an add threshold and dropping sectors that report reverse-link signal strengths less than a drop threshold.

Abstract: A method and system of controlling switching of an access terminal between cells of an access network that includes a first BTS serving a first cell and a second BTS serving a second cell. While the first BTS is receiving from the access terminal one or more consecutive requests for current service in the first cell and serving the access terminal, the second BTS receives from the access terminal a request for future service in the second cell. In response, the second BTS prepares to serve the access terminal in the second cell. After the second BTS has finished preparing, the first BTS sends to the access terminal an instruction to stop sending requests for current service in the first cell (e.g., a DRCLock bit message). The second BTS then receives from the access terminal a request for current service in the second cell, and begins serving the access terminal.

Abstract: A first communication device receives a communication from a second communication device. The communication could be part of the signaling used to establish a call to the second communication device or an audio signal that the second communication device conveys after its user has answered the call and started speaking. Based on the communication from the second communication device, the first communication device provides a user-discernible indication regarding the environment in which the second communication device is being used, such as an indication that the second communication device is being used with a speakerphone. If the second communication device is being used in a vehicle, the first communication device may also provide a user-discernible indication regarding the operational status of the vehicle, such as whether the vehicle is in motion and/or the number of occupants in the vehicle.