Abstract: A system and method of providing an integrated wireless telecommunications network including a cellular network portion and a packet-switched network portion. The cellular network portion provides legacy mobile telecommunications functionality to mobile subscribers. The packet-switched network portion is provided for transporting communication traffic, wherein the communication traffic comprises traffic originated from a mobile subscriber, traffic intended for a mobile subscriber, or both. The network also includes a gateway disposed between the cellular network portion and the packet-switched network portion for providing a communication path therebetween. An interworking interface module is provided between the cellular network portion and the packet-switched network portion.

Abstract: A system, method and access gateway for minimizing the number of transcodings of a speech signal during a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) conference call in a packet-switched network in which Tandem Free Operation (TFO) is utilized. The system includes a first gateway connecting the first mobile subscriber to the network, a second gateway connecting the second subscriber, and a third gateway connecting the third subscriber. The second gateway sends a message to the first gateway indicating a speech coding mode being utilized between the second gateway and the second subscriber. The third gateway sends a message to the first gateway indicating a speech coding mode being utilized between the third gateway and the third subscriber. When a three-way conference call is initiated, the first gateway encodes the call path to the second subscriber with the speech coding mode being utilized between the second gateway and the second subscriber.

Abstract: A system and method in a wireless telecommunication network for placing on hold an ongoing circuit-switched voice call between a first party and a second party, and conducting a packet-switched data session between the second party and a third party. An enhanced Gs interface between a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) in a packet-switched network and a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) in a circuit-switched network enables messages to be passed that enable the second party to place the first party on hold and either accept an incoming data session from the third party or originate a data session to the third party. When the data session is completed, the MSC is notified, and the voice call is resumed between the first party and the second party.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the direction of a signal such as for example a received radio signal in a cellular mobile communication system. At lest two antenna arrays (10, 12) are connected to associated processors (14, 16) for extracting the desired signal and two independent direction of arrival estimates are determined in associated direction estimators (18, 20). A similarity testing unit (22) determines the direction of arrival and the accuracy of this estimate from the difference between the two estimates. A feature of the invention is controlling the beam form of a downlink signal in response to the direction estimate and the determined accuracy.

Abstract: A cellular communication system has a frequency bandwidth arranged into a plurality of frequency channels, and a plurality of neighbouring first (130) and second (132) sites each having sectors (a1-f1, a2-f2) containing at least one frequency channel. Corresponding sectors in each of the neighbouring first (130) and second sites (132) have consecutive frequency channels from the frequency bandwidth, thereby producing a two-site re-use pattern (134, 136). The cellular communication system may be adapted to support an underlay/overlay cell configuration in which neighbouring first (230) and second (232) sites each have six-sectors containing at least one frequency channel (b1-b12) of a two-site repeat pattern. The six sectors further each contain at least one frequency channel (t1-t6) of a one-site repeat pattern.