Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for changing a location area allocated to a current terminal attached to equipment belonging to a first location area of a communication network. The equipment furthermore belongs to at least one second location area of the communication network. The first area and the at least one second area are able to overlap one another. The method includes: broadcasting, via a broadcast channel, an identifier of the first location area and an additional location datum including at least one identifier of the at least one second location area; and selecting, for the current terminal, from the first and the at least one second location area, a current location area, according to the additional location datum and at least one predetermined selection parameter.

Abstract: An access node such as a base station is adapted to communicate with a first transmission network and via a data radio channel with a user node. When a second transmission network is connected to the access node, to manage a network layer packet transmitted between the user node and a node of one of the first and second transmission networks, the access node inspects at least one part of the network layer packet, and switches the inspected network layer packet to a node of one of the first and second transmission network or to the user node.

Abstract: Method for switching access nodes for a terminal capable of implementing a set of applications with at least one remote communicating entity through a packet-switched network, said terminal being associated with a set of first communication contexts, a first communication context including a same first transport configuration common to the set of applications and a first application configuration corresponding to a given application. The method comprises the following steps, reiterated for all the first communication contexts: reception by the terminal of an access node switching notification message, said message indicating a second communication context including a second transport configuration, reception by the terminal of notification message count information, filtering of said second transport configuration of said second communication context on the basis of said count information, transmission of a filtered notification message to the application corresponding to the current iteration.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for changing a location area allocated to a current terminal attached to equipment belonging to a first location area of a communication network. The equipment furthermore belongs to at least one second location area of the communication network. The first area and the at least one second area are able to overlap one another. The method includes: broadcasting, via a broadcast channel, an identifier of the first location area and an additional location datum including at least one identifier of the at least one second location area; and selecting, for the current terminal, from the first and the at least one second location area, a current location area, according to the additional location datum and at least one predetermined selection parameter.

Abstract: Method for switching access nodes for a terminal capable of implementing a set of applications with at least one remote communicating entity through a packet-switched network, said terminal being associated with a set of first communication contexts, a first communication context including a same first transport configuration common to the set of applications and a first application configuration corresponding to a given application. The method comprises the following steps, reiterated for all the first communication contexts: reception by the terminal of an access node switching notification message, said message indicating a second communication context including a second transport configuration, reception by the terminal of notification message count information, filtering of said second transport configuration of said second communication context on the basis of said count information, transmission of a filtered notification message to the application corresponding to the current iteration.

Abstract: A method of switching a terminal from a source access node (NA1) to a destination access node (NA2, NA3, NA4), which terminal (M) is using at least one service with a remote communicating entity (EC) via a packet-switched network (R_IP), the terminal being associated, when connected to the source access node, with a first communications context and with a set consisting of possible application configurations for using the service concerned, a communications context containing parameters relating to “lower” layers and parameters relating to “higher” layers defining a given application configuration, the layers being defined by a communications model, the method comprising a step (E2, E3) of discovering potential destination access nodes, a step (E4) of the source access node selecting one of the potential destination access nodes, and a step (E5) of transferring the first communications context of the terminal from the source access node to the selected destination access node.

Abstract: An access node such as a base station is adapted to communicate with a first transmission network and via a data radio channel with a user node. When a second transmission network is connected to the access node, to manage a network layer packet transmitted between the user node and a node of one of the first and second transmission networks, the access node inspects at least one part of the network layer packet, and switches the inspected network layer packet to a node of one of the first and second transmission network or to the user node.