Patent ID: 7313107
Filing Date: 2007-12-25
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. In a wireless network having a packet gateway communicatively coupled to a base station system (BSS), wherein the packet gateway provides connectivity with a packet network, and wherein the BSS includes an antenna system that radiates to define a plurality of wireless cell sectors for one or more wireless terminals, wherein each of the one or more wireless terminals has a multicast state and a non-multicast state, a method comprising: for each of the wireless cell sectors, providing a respective multicast link between the packet gateway and the BSS, so that multiple multicast links exist concurrently between the packet gateway and the BSS, wherein each multicast link has an active state and an inactive state; causing the multicast link for a given wireless cell sector to be in the active state when at least one wireless terminal in the given wireless coverage area is in the multicast state; and causing the multicast link for the given wireless cell sector to be in the inactive state when no wireless terminal in the given wireless coverage area is in the multicast state, wherein the multicast link for each wireless coverage area is a radio-packet link conforming to an A10/A11 standard.