Patent ID: 8254967
Filing Date: 2012-08-28
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A mobile station operable within wireless coverage of a radio access network (RAN), the mobile station having an identifier, the RAN radiating to define a plurality of wireless coverage areas including a first wireless coverage area having a first quantity of paging channels and a second wireless coverage adjacent to the first wireless coverage area and having a second quantity of paging channels greater than one, the mobile station comprising: a wireless transceiver operable to engage in air interface communication with the RAN, the mobile station being arranged such that when the mobile station powers-on in the second wireless coverage area, the mobile station applies a hashing algorithm keyed to its identifier to select a given one of the second coverage area's paging channels and the mobile station idles on the selected given paging channel in the second wireless coverage area to await receipt of a paging channel message from the RAN, the mobile station being further arranged such that, when the mobile station is powered-on and moves from the first wireless coverage area to the second wireless coverage area, the mobile station applies a default paging channel selection process by which (i) the mobile station makes a determination of whether the second quantity is the same as the first quantity, (ii) if the determination is that the second quantity is the same as the first quantity, then the mobile station selects and idles on the same paging channel in the second wireless coverage area that the mobile station was idling on in the first wireless coverage area just before moving into the second wireless coverage area and (iii) if the determination is that the second quality is different than the first quantity, then the mobile station selects by rote and idles on a default paging channel in the second wireless coverage area without taking into consideration the mobile station's identifier and without taking into consideration which paging channel the mobile station was idling on in the first wireless coverage area just before moving into the second wireless coverage area, wherein the default paging channel is different than the paging channel the mobile station would idle on in the second coverage area if the determination is that the second quality is the same as the first quantity.