Patent ID: 6108325
Filing Date: 2000-08-22
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
A system for delivering a short message addressed to a particular mobile station comprising:a message centre initially having access to the short message;a mobile switching centre in communication with the message centre;a plurality of basestation controllers connected to the mobile switching centre, each providing mobile communications service to a respective number of cells, each cell having a paging channel;wherein the short message is sent by the message centre to the mobile switching centre which broadcasts a page to all of the cells so as to determine the cell in which is located the mobile station to which the short message is addressed, and after determining the cell, the mobile switching centre passes the short message to the basestation controller for that cell, and the basestation controller for that cell transmits the short message to the mobile station;wherein in determining the cell in which is located the mobile station, a determination of the cell's paging channel capacity is also made, and this paging channel capacity is sent to the mobile switching centre which determines whether the paging channel capacity is sufficiently large to handle the message, and if so sends the message over the paging channel, and if not sets up a traffic channel to the mobile station and sends the message over the traffic channel.