Patent ID: 9681419
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: H04M,H04W

Claim:
1. A method for seamless and resource efficient roaming for group call services in an evolved multimedia broadcast/multicast service (eMBMS) network, comprising: determining, at a server located in a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN), that a user equipment (UE) associated with the HPLMN is expected to cross a boundary from a current PLMN to a Visited PLMN (VPLMN), wherein the UE has registered to participate in a group call in the current PLMN; detecting that the UE has roamed to the VPLMN; determining, at the server in the HPLMN, whether to establish a multicast bearer in the VPLMN in response to the UE having pre-registered for eMBMS services in the VPLMN prior to crossing the boundary to the VPLMN, wherein the server determines whether to establish the multicast bearer based at least in part on a number of group call participants in the VPLMN; providing the UE with information about one or more bearers that will support the group call in the VPLMN; and determining that the UE is registered in the current PLMN, wherein the information about the one or more bearers that will support the group call in the VPLMN is provided to the UE in response to the UE registering interest in one or more groups supported or active in the VPLMN prior to crossing the boundary to the VPLMN.