Patent ID: 9622067
Date: 2017-04-11
CPC Classifications: H04W

Claim:
1. A method of managing device connectivity in a wireless communication system, wherein the wireless communication system comprises a plurality of signaling controllers, the method comprising: determining that a first one of the signaling controllers is going to be taken out of service, wherein the first signaling controller serves a plurality of wireless client devices (WCDs) via one or more base stations; responsive to the determining, (i) selecting at least a first WCD from among the plurality WCDs served by the first signaling controller, the selecting being based on the first WCD providing wireless backhaul connectivity for a relay base station, and (ii) based on the selecting, transitioning the first WCD from being served by the first signaling controller to being served by a second signaling controller before taking the first signaling controller out of service, whereby transitioning the first WCD from being served by the first signaling controller to being served by the second signaling controller helps avoid having the first WCD lose network connectivity as a result of the first signaling controller being taken out of service.