Abstract: Recovering bearers after a service interruption of a relay node includes receiving, at a relay gateway, an instruction to modify bearers from a mobility management entity (MME), the instruction identifying one or more bearers that were in use by the relay node prior to the service interruption, identifying, at the relay gateway, at least one additional bearer in use prior to the service interruption not identified in the instruction received from the MME, and instructing the MME to create the at least one additional bearer. The at least one additional bearer can include a non-GBR bearer, such as a bearer with QCI of 1 used for VoLTE.

Abstract: Relaying data comprises assigning a first network address to a relay wireless device attached to an access node, wherein the relay wireless device is communicatively coupled to one or more wireless access points (WAPs); and instructing the relay wireless device to correspondingly assign one or more additional network addresses to the one or more WAPs, wherein the relay wireless device is configured to relay data between the access node and one or more end-user wireless devices attached to any of the one or more WAPs. Port NAT and DHCP are leveraged at the relay UE according to embodiments described herein.

Abstract: Selecting a donor access node for a relay node based on a number of component carriers includes identifying one or more potential donor access nodes deploying one or more carriers, measuring a reference signal strength for each of the one or more potential donor access nodes, determining which of the one or more potential donor access nodes deploys a highest number of component carriers, and sending a request to attach to the potential donor access node deploying the highest number of component carriers and having a reference signal strength that meets a reference signal criteria.

Abstract: Selecting a donor access node for a relay node includes identifying operating frequencies for carriers deployed by the relay node, and determining backhaul frequencies that minimize interference with the operating frequencies, including identifying frequency bands that are separated from the one or more operating frequencies by at least a threshold amount. Primary and secondary carriers can be identified and communicated with potential donor access nodes.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and processing nodes for communicating using at least two different radio access technologies (RATs) include determining whether or not an access node is capable of communicating using the at least two RATs (e.g. using 4G LTE and 5G NR, also known as 5G EN-DC), and instructing the access node to broadcast an indicator, wherein receiving the indicator, a wireless device can attach to both first and second RATs. The wireless device is further instructed to prioritize which combination of RATs to attach to based on a signal level transmitting using each RAT.