Patent Publication Number: US-2005143086-A1

Title: Method, System and Computer Program for Controlling Resources in Wireless Telecommunications System

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention relates to a method of controlling resources in a wireless telecommunications system, a system for controlling resources in a wireless telecommunications system, and a computer program for controlling resources in a wireless telecommunications system.  
     BACKGROUND  
      As the data transfer capacity of wireless telecommunications systems has increased, various types of digital services, such as voice calls, video streaming service and electric mail, have become available to service subscribers.  
      Some telecommunications systems support multi-service connections between a wireless device and a core network of the telecommunications system, in which multi-service a subscriber is entitled to a plurality of simultaneous services.  
      The multi-service concept complicates resource control of telecommunications system, since various types of services with different requirements may be combined in a multi-service. Therefore, it is desirable to consider techniques to improve the resource control in such wireless telecommunications systems.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An object of the invention is to provide an improved method, system and computer program. According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling resources in a wireless telecommunications system supporting a multi-service where a wireless device is entitled to a plurality of simultaneous services, in which method the multi-service is associated with radio resource preferences according to characteristics of the multi-service, which radio resource preferences define preferred radio resources selected from a plurality of radio resources to deliver the multi-service to the wireless device.  
      According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for controlling resources in a wireless telecommunications system supporting a multi-service where a wireless device is entitled to a plurality of simultaneous services, the system including an associating network element for associating the multi-service with radio resource preferences according to characteristics of the multi-service, which radio resource preferences define preferred radio resources selected from a plurality of radio resources to deliver the multi-service to the wireless device.  
      According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program for executing a computer process in a wireless telecommunications system supporting a multi-service where a wireless device is entitled to a plurality of simultaneous services, the computer process including the step of associating the multi-service with radio resource preferences according to characteristics of the multi-service, which radio resource preferences define preferred radio resources selected from a plurality of radio resources to deliver the multi-service to the wireless device.  
      Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.  
      The method, system and computer program of the invention provide several advantages. The invention is based on associating a multi-service with radio resource preferences such that the characteristics of the multi-service are taken into account. The radio resource preferences may be used to select appropriate radio resources for the wireless device entitled to the service, thus improving the quality of the multi-service. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, in which  
       FIG. 1  shows an example of the structure of a wireless telecommunications system;  
       FIG. 2  shows a second example of the structure of a wireless telecommunications system;  
       FIG. 3  shows an example of a radio cell structure;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates the methodology of the invention according to some embodiments of the invention; and  
       FIG. 5  illustrates the methodology of the invention according to some other embodiments of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a wireless telecommunications system which may include the following radio access systems, hereinafter referred to as radio systems: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), GERAN (GSM/EDGE Radio access network), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), E-GPRS (EDGE GPRS), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), CDMA2000 (CDMA, Code Division Multiple Access), US-TDMA (US Time Division Multiple Access), TDS-CDMA (Time Division Synchronization CDMA), Bluetooth-based short-range systems and WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network). Below, examples on embodiments of the invention will be described using the GSM and UMTS radio systems as examples, without limiting the invention to these systems, as will be obvious to a person skilled in the art. The structure and functions of the network elements are only described when relevant to the invention.  
      The wireless telecommunications system may be divided into a core network (CN)  100 , a radio access network  102 , and a wireless device (WD)  104 . The core network  100  and the radio access network  102  compose a network  144  of the wireless telecommunications system.  
      In the example of the wireless telecommunications system, the radio access network  102  includes an UTRAN  106  (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) typically implemented with wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) technology.  
      The radio access network  102  may further include a base station system (BSS)  108  implemented by time division multiple access (TDMA) technology. The BSS  108  may support, for example, GSM, GERAN, GPRS, and E-GPRS radio systems.  
      The wireless device  104  is typically an electric device with a radio modem and identification means required for connecting to the wireless telecommunications system over an air interface  146 . For the ease of discussion, the air interface provided by different radio systems  106 ,  108  is indicated with a single indicator  146 .  
      It is clear to one skilled in the art how to implement embodiments of the invention with other radio systems, such as those mentioned above.  
      The wireless device  104  may be user equipment, a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber terminal, a mobile telephone or a wireless game terminal.  
      The structure of the core network  100  of the example corresponds to a combined structure of the GSM and GPRS systems. The GSM network elements are typically responsible for establishing circuit-switched connections, and the GPRS network elements are responsible for establishing packet-switched connections. Some of the network elements are, however, included in both systems.  
      A mobile services switching center (MSC)  110 , or an MSC server (MSS), is the center point of the circuit-switched domain of the core network  100 . The same MSC  110  can be used to serve the connections to the UTRAN  106  and the BSS  108 . The functions the MSC  110  performs include: switching, paging, wireless device location registration, handover management, collection of subscriber billing information, encryption parameter management, and echo cancellation.  
      The core network  100  may include a gateway mobile services switching center (GMSC)  112 , which is responsible for circuit-switched connections between the core network  100  and external networks  114 . An external network  114  can be for instance a public land mobile network (PLMN) or a public switched telephone network (PSTN).  
      A serving GPRS support node (SGSN)  116  is the center point of the packet-switched domain of the core network  100 . The main task of the SGSN  116  is to transmit packets to the wireless device  104  and receive packets to the wireless device  104  from the wireless device  104  by using the UTRAN  106  or the BSS  108 . The SGSN  116  contains subscriber and location information related to the wireless device  104 .  
      A gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)  120  is the packet-switched domain counterpart to the GMSC  112  with the exception, however, that the GGSN  120  is further capable of routing traffic from the core network  100  to the packet switched external networks  118 , whereas the GMSC  112  typically routes incoming traffic. A packet switched external network  118  may include the Internet, for example.  
      A home location register (HLR)  142  comprises a permanent sub-scriber register, i.e. the following information, for instance: an international mo-bile subscriber identity (IMSI), a mobile subscriber ISDN number (MSISDN), an authentication key, and when the radio system supports GPRS, a packet data protocol (PDP) address.  
      A visitor location register (VLR)  140  contains roaming information on the wireless device  104  in the area of the MSC  110 . The visitor location register  140  comprises information needed for processing services used by the wireless device  104 , which is registered in a database of the VLR  140 . The VLR  140  may also receive the necessary additional information from the HLR  142 . The VLR  140  comprises the following information, for example: an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), a mobile subscriber ISDN number (MSISDN), wireless device roaming number (MSRN), and the location area (LA) of the wireless device  104 .  
      The BSS  108  comprises a base station controller (BSC)  122  and base transceiver stations (BTS)  124 ,  126 .  
      The BSC  122  is responsible for the following tasks, for instance: radio resource management of the BTS  124 ,  126 , inter-cell handovers, frequency control, i.e. frequency allocation to the BTS  124 ,  126 , management of frequency hopping sequences, time delay measurement on the uplink, implementation of the operation and maintenance interface, and power control. The radio resource management includes for example cell change procedures.  
      The BTS  124 ,  126  comprises at least one transceiver which implements one carrier, i.e. eight time slots, i.e. eight physical channels. Typically, one BTS  124 ,  126  serves one cell, but a solution is also possible wherein one BTS  124 ,  126  serves several sectored cells. The tasks of the BTS  124 ,  126  include, for example: calculation of timing advance (TA), uplink measurements, channel coding, encryption, decryption, and frequency hopping.  
      The UTRAN  106  comprises at least one radio network controller (RNC)  134  and nodes B  130 ,  132 . Node B is a rather abstract concept; the term ‘base transceiver station’ is often used instead. Node B  130 ,  132  implements the radio interface  146 , and performs tasks similar to the functions of the BTS  124 ,  126 .  
      The RNC  134  controls one or more nodes B  130 ,  132 . Functions that are performed by the RNC  134  include tasks such as downlink power control, handover management, and admission control.  
      The wireless device  104  may include two parts: mobile equipment (ME)  136  and a UMTS subscriber identity module (USIM)  138 . In an embodiment, the wireless device  104  comprises an identity module  138  for each radio system  106 ,  108  to which the wireless device  104  can be connected.  
      The wireless device  104  further comprises at least one transceiver for establishing a radio link to the UTRAN  106  or the BSS  108 . The wireless device  104  may further comprise an antenna, a user interface, and a battery.  
      USIM  138  comprises user-related information and information related to information security in particular, for instance, an encryption algorithm.  
      The aforementioned network elements, such as the MSC  110 , the SGSN  116 , the GSMC  112 , the GGSN  120 , the VLR  140 , and the HLR  142  may be implemented with digital processors, memory means, software, switches and buses. Some of the network elements may be implemented in a shared physical unit. The detailed structure of the network elements is known to a person skilled in the art, and will be described in detail only when relevant to the invention.  
      With reference to the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the wireless telecommunications system  200  may be connected to servers  202 ,  204 ,  206 , which may provide various types of services  216 ,  218 ,  220  for the wireless device  104 , which is entitled to a multi-service  224 , by using the air interface  146  of the wireless telecommunications system. A server  202 ,  204 ,  206  may be located in the external networks  114 ,  118  or in the core network  100 .  
      A service  216 ,  218 ,  220  is associated with a flow of digital information between the server  202 ,  204 ,  206  and the wireless device  104 . The direction of the flow of the digital information may be unidirectional or bidirectional.  
      The service  216 ,  218 ,  220  may be, for example, a voice call service, a messaging service, an Internet access service, a game service, a navigation service, video streaming service, a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) service, or a file transfer service.  
      The services  216 ,  218 ,  220  may be divided into QoS (Quality of Service) classes, such as conversational class, interactive class, streaming class, and background class, according to the required quality of the service  216 ,  218 ,  220 .  
      A service  216 ,  218 ,  220  may have characteristics, such as the required bandwidth, transmission delay requirement, and error tolerance. The traffic characteristics associated with single services  216 ,  218 ,  220  are known to one skilled in the art, and will be described in detail only when relevant to the present solution.  
      A multi-service  224  is typically a combination of services  216 ,  218 ,  220 , which may be provided simultaneously for the wireless device  104 . For example, the wireless device  104  may have an ongoing voice call and a data download at the same time, when connected to a multi-service  224 .  
      The multi-service  224  is delivered to the wireless device  104  over the air interface  146  of the wireless telecommunications system by using one or more radio resources  208 ,  210 ,  212 .  
      A radio resource  208 ,  210 ,  212  is typically provided by a radio access network  102 , and may include a network element, such as a BTS  124 ,  126 , node B  130 ,  132 , or a radio system  106 ,  108 .  
      A radio resource  208 ,  210 ,  212  may also include more abstract concepts, such as a frequency resource, a temporal resource, a coding resource, an antenna resource, a radio cell, or any resource contributing to delivering the multi-service  224  to the wireless device  104 .  
      A wireless device  104 , which is entitled to the multi-service  224 , has a right to use a set of simultaneous services  216 ,  218 ,  220 . The right may be based on a legal agreement between the service provider and the service subscriber, i.e. the holder of the wireless device  104 . The legal agreement may define the single services  216 ,  218 ,  220  in the multi-service  224 . The service provider typically manages the servers  202 ,  204 ,  206  and the contents of the services  216 ,  218 ,  220 .  
      The service provider and the network operator, which operates the network  114  or a portion of a shared network  114 , may have a mutual legal agreement which defines the use of the network  144  when delivering the multi-service  224  to the wireless device  104 .  
      In an embodiment of the invention, the multi-service  224  is associated with radio resource preferences according to characteristics of the multi-service  224 . The radio resource preferences define preferred radio resources from a plurality of radio resources  208 ,  210 ,  212  to deliver the multi-service  224  to the wireless device  104 . The radio resource preferences may further define service priorities according to which the multi-services  224  are prioritised in the network  144 .  
      The characteristics according to which the multi-service  224  is associated with the radio resource preferences are typically associated with traffic requirements of the multi-service  224 .  
      In an embodiment, the traffic requirement is a bandwidth requirement of the multi-service  224 . In such a case, the radio resource preferences are typically set so as to deliver the multi-service  224  at a data rate which fulfils the bandwidth requirement.  
      In a second embodiment, the traffic requirement is a transmission delay requirement of the multi-service  224 . In such a case, the radio resource preferences are typically set so as to provide the multi-service  224  with a transmission delay which fulfils the transmission requirement.  
      In another embodiment, the traffic requirement is the error tolerance of the multi-service  224 . In such a case, the radio resource preferences are typically set so as to fulfil the error tolerance requirement.  
      In an embodiment, the multi-service  224  is associated with the radio resource preferences according to a combination of the traffic requirements of the services  216 ,  218 ,  220  in the multi-service  224 , such as those listed above.  
      In an embodiment, the multi-service  224  may be associated with the radio resource preferences according to the overall capacity requirement of the multi-service  224 .  
      In an embodiment, the multi-service  224  may be associated with the radio resource preferences according to the most restricting traffic requirements of the individual services  216 ,  218 ,  220  in the multi-service  224 . Such a most restricting requirement may be, for example, the data transfer capacity requirement.  
      In an embodiment, the characteristics and the traffic requirements of the multi-service  224  are stored as a multi-service profile, which may be a list-like data base including a list of the services  216 ,  218 ,  220  and the traffic requirements of the multi-service  224 . The database may be included in the subscriber information in the HLR  142 , and transferred to an appropriate VLR  140  when the wireless device  104  moves outside the home location area. In an embodiment, the multi-service  224  is associated with radio resource preferences according to the multi-service capabilities of the wireless device  104 .  
      The multi-service capabilities of the wireless device  104  may be defined by a user service profile associated with the wireless device  104 . The user service profile may define, for example, the services  216 ,  218 ,  220  to which the wireless device  104  is entitled. The user service profile may further define user-specific limits for the use of the service  216 ,  218 ,  220 . For example, a multi-service  224  may include a data transfer service, but the maximum data rate is limited by a predefined limit. In such a case, the list of services includes service-specific information which indicates the limitations of each service  216 ,  218 ,  220  in the multi-service  224 . The user-specific limits may be dynamically adjustable. For example, the limits may be stricter when the load of the network  114  is expected to be high. The user-specific limits may be defined in terms of time of day, time of week, time of year, for example.  
      The user service profile may include hard restrictions. For example, the subscriber may not be entitled to parallel circuit-switched and packet-switched services in a GSM/GPRS system of the BSS  108  due to a lack of a multi-service capability of the wireless device  104 . As a result, the multi-service  224  may be associated with the UTRAN  106  in order to enable a multi-service  224  to be provided including, for example, a voice call service and video streaming service, to the wireless device  104 .  
      The user service profile may also include soft restrictions. For example, simultaneous voice service and web-browsing service are preferably operated in the UTRAN  106 , even though also allowed in the GSM/GPRS of the BSS  108 . However, the UTRAN  106  is selected as the preferred radio resource since the UTRAN  106  allows for a faster web-browsing service due to a wider bandwidth and higher bit transfer rates.  
      The multi-service capability of the wireless device  104  may further be defined by the technical characteristics of the wireless device  104 . For example, some services, such as electric mail messaging and video streaming service, may not be supported by the wireless device  104 , and therefore may not be included in the multi-service list.  
      In an embodiment, the multi-service capability of the wireless device  104  is defined by the wireless device&#39;s  104  capability of supporting parallel use of circuit switched and packet switched domains. If, for example, the wireless device  104  supports the simultaneous use of circuit-switched and packet-switched domains, the wireless device  104  is capable of using simultaneous video graphics and a speech call to the wireless device  104  by using the BSS  108 .  
      In an embodiment, the wireless device  104  supports video conferencing, and the video-conferencing is included in the multi-service  224 . In such a case, the video conferencing requirements may be taken into account when associating the multi-service  224  with the radio resource preferences.  
      In an embodiment, the wireless device  104  supports an HSDPA functionality (High Speed Data Packet Access), which enables high data rate down link data transfer in the GSM system. If the multi-service involves highdata rate down link data transfer, the preferred radio resources may be those supporting the HSDPA functionality.  
      The user service profile may be included in the subscriber information in the HLR  142 , and transferred to an appropriate VLR  140 , when the wireless device  104  moves outside the home location area.  
      In an embodiment, the multi-service  224  is associated with radio resource preferences according to the multi-service capabilities of the network  114  of the wireless telecommunications system.  
      The multi-service capabilities of the network  144  may be defined by the technical characteristics of the network  144 . The multi-service capability may have local aspects due to the structure of the radio access network  102 .  
      The multi-service capabilities of the network  144  may depend on the characteristics and combination of the radio systems  106 ,  108  included in the radio access network  102 . For example, the multi-service capabilities of a radio access network  102  only including the UTRAN  106  is different from a radio access network including both the UTRAN  106  and the BSS  108 . The multi service capabilities of the network  144  may be defined by a network multi-service profile, which may include the types of services the network  144  supports. The network multi-service profile may be a list-like data-base which includes the supported services  216 ,  218 ,  220  and possibly the limits that restrict the use of the services  216 ,  218 ,  220 . The database may be stored in the MSC  110 , the SGSN  116  or a corresponding network element.  
      In an embodiment, the multi-service capability of the network  114  is defined by the network&#39;s  114  capability of supporting a simultaneous use of circuit switched and packet switched domains for the wireless device  104 . If, for example, the BSS  108  supports the simultaneous use of circuit-switched and packet-switched domains, the network  114  is capable of delivering simultaneous video graphics and a speech call to the wireless device  104  by using the BSS  108 .  
       FIG. 2  shows a control system  240 , which includes an associating network element (ANE)  228 , which associates the multi-service  224  with radio resource preferences according to the characteristics of the multi-service  224 .  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  includes the characteristics and/or QoS classes of the services  216 ,  218 ,  220  in the multi-service  224 . The associating network element  228  may further include resource information on the radio resources  208 ,  210 ,  212 , which may be available to the wireless device  104  in the current location in the network  144 . The radio resource preferences may be deduced by comparing the characteristics of the multi-service  224  and the QoS classes with the resource information.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  associates the multi-service  224  with radio resource preferences according to the positioning accuracy of the telecommunications system. The positioning typically relates to defining a position of the wireless device  104 . The positioning may be based on a direction analysis of an uplink signal from the wireless device  104 . The positioning accuracy may be used, for example, when selecting a preferred radio cell for the wireless device  104 . With a high positioning accuracy, the wireless device  104  may be associated with a small size radio cell, such as a micro-cell. With a low position accuracy, the wireless device  104  may be associated with an umbrella radio cell.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  associates the multi-service  224  with radio resource preferences according to the actual load of the network  114  of the wireless telecommunications system. If, for example, the most preferred radio resource is loaded, the secondly preferred radio resource may be selected as the preferred radio resource.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  associates the multi-service  224  with radio resource preferences according to presumed battery consumption of the wireless device  104  when using the preferred radio resources. For example, WCDMA based traffic consumes more power than the GSM based traffic, and the GSM based system may be preferred over the UTRAN if low battery consumption is needed.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  associates the multi-service  224  with radio resource preferences according to the coverage of the network  114  of the wireless telecommunications system. The network operator may have a limited coverage within the area of the wireless device  104 , and it sets the radio resource preferences such that the wireless device  104  remains within the operator&#39;s coverage area as long as possible.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  associates the multi-service  224  with radio resource preferences according to a network-operator-specific use of the network  114  of the wireless telecommunications system, the particular network operator being the one which provides the multi-service  224 . The network may be shared between operators which may prefer using certain radio resources over other radio resources. There may be operator-specific multi-service profiles which define the radio resource preferences according to the characteristics of the multi-services  224 . It is possible, for example, that certain multi-services  224  are made available to a limited group of operators sharing the network  114 .  
      In an embodiment, the operator-specific multi-service profiles may be dynamic such that the radio resource preferences depend on the presumed load of the network  114 . A dynamic use of the network  114  may be based on the time of day, time of week, and time of year, for example.  
      The multi-service  224  may be associated with the radio resource preferences for example when the wireless device  104  entitled to the multi-service  224  initiates a connection to the wireless telecommunications system, changes cells, or initiates a roaming procedure. It should be noted, however, that the associating procedure does not necessarily require the wireless device  104  to use the multi-service  224 , but provides a standby state for the wireless device  104  in such a way that handover situations are avoided when the actual connection to the multi-service  224  is established.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  associates the multi-service  224  with the radio resource preferences according to the characteristics of the multi-service  224  requested by the wireless device  104 . The multi-service  224  may or may not be associated with the radio resource preferences before the request. The request may, however, specify the radio resource preferences according to the required data rate of the multi-service  224  and possibly the prevailing load of the network  144 . It is possible, for example, that the wireless device  104  is connected to a single service, such as a voice call service. In the meantime, another service, such as video streaming service, is requested by the wireless device  104 . In such a case, the multi-service  224 , which includes the voice call service and the video streaming service, is associated with the radio resource preferences. For example, the wireless device  104  may first be connected to the BSS  108  only supporting a single voice call service. The radio resource preferences may prefer the UTRAN  108  when the multi-service  224  is requested.  
      In an embodiment, if the multi-service  224  only includes circuit switched services  216 ,  218 ,  220 , the associating network element  228  is included in the MSC  110 .  
      In an embodiment, if the multi-service  224  only includes packet switched services  216 ,  218 ,  220 , the associating network element  228  is included in the SGSN  116 .  
      In an embodiment, if the multi-service  224  includes both packet switched services  216 ,  218 ,  220  and circuit switched services  216 ,  218 ,  220 , the associating network element  228  is included in the BSC  122  or the RNC  134 .  
      In an embodiment, if the multi-service  224  includes both packet switched services  216 ,  218 ,  220  and circuit switched services  216 ,  218 ,  220 , the associating network element  228  is included in a core network element, such as the GMSC  112  and the GGSN  120 .  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element  228  selects a preferred radio system for the wireless device  104  from a group of radio systems  106 ,  108  of the wireless telecommunications system according to the radio resource preferences. The associating network element  228  may have resource information for each radio system  106 ,  108  in the group. In such a case, the resource information may in this case include the bandwidths of the air interfaces provided by the radio systems  208 ,  210 ,  212  and information on the switching method.  
      For example, the multi-service  224  includes a circuit switched voice call service and a transparent data transfer service. In such a case, the radio resource preferences may prioritize the UTRAN  106  over the BSS  108 .  
       FIG. 3  shows an example of a cell structure  300 , which includes at least two radio cells  302  to  310 . The radio cells  302  to  310  may be formed by nodes B  130 ,  132  and may have an internal structure, such as antenna beams.  
      In an embodiment, the associating network element selects a preferred radio cell for the wireless device  104  from a plurality of radio cells  302 ,  304 ,  306 ,  308 ,  310  of the wireless telecommunications system according to the radio resource preferences. The associating network element  228  may have resource information for each radio cell  302  to  310 . In such a case, the resource information may include the bandwidths of the radio cells  302  to  310 , capacities of the radio cells  302  to  310 , and information on the switching method. Furthermore, the multi-service capability may be radio-cell-specific.  
      The radio resource preferences typically define cell priorities according to which the wireless device  104  is encouraged to select the serving radio cell in preference to other radio cells.  
      The cell priorities are typically based on different capacities of the cells  302  to  310  or the mobility of the wireless device  104 . The mobility of the wireless device  104  may be deduced from the services used. For example, a wireless device  104  using a web-browsing service is probably in a stationary position. The mobility of the wireless device may also be measured from the frequency of cell updates of the wireless device  104 .  
      If the serving radio system is the UTRAN  106 , for example, umbrella cells  302  may be used for multi-services whose capacity requirement is relatively low. Such multi-services include, for example, a combination of packet switched voice call service and a WAP service.  
      Micro cells  304 ,  306  may be used for a multi-service, such as a combination of voice call service and a file transfer service.  
      Pico-cells  308  may be used, for example, for a combination of video streaming service and a file transfer service.  
      The cell structure  300  may also include GPRS cells and EGPRS cells. In such a case, the cell may be selected according to various factors, such as cell size, cell capacity, and cell load.  
      With reference to  FIG. 2 , in an embodiment, the control system  240  includes an allocating network element  232  for allocating radio resources to the wireless device  104  according to the radio resource preferences.  
      In the example of  FIG. 2 , the radio resource  210  is selected as the preferred radio resource, which is then allocated to the wireless device  104 . The associating network element  228  provides the allocating network element  232  with a signal  236 , which carries the radio resource preference information. The allocating network element  232  may route the multi-service  224  via the preferred radio resources. The allocating network element  232  may also, for example through signalling, inform another network element to perform routing so that the multi-service  224  uses the preferred radio resources.  
      In an embodiment, the allocating network element  232  initiates an inter-cell handover from the current radio cell to the preferred radio cell according to the radio resource preferences transferred by the signal  236 . After initialization, the wireless device  104  is handed over from the current radio cell to the preferred radio cell. In such a case, the allocating network element may be located in the RNC  134  or the BSC  122 , for example.  
      In an embodiment, the allocating network element  232  initiates an inter-system handover procedure according to the radio resource preferences transferred by the signal  236 . After initialization, the wireless device  104  is handed over from a serving radio system to the preferred radio system. In such a case, the allocating network element  232  may locate in the core network  100 , for example in the MSC  110 , the SGSN  116 , the GMSC  112 , or the GGSN  120 . In an embodiment, the allocating network element  232  may be the RNC  134  or the BSC  122 .  
      In an embodiment, the allocating network element  232  releases radio resources for the wireless device  104  according to the radio resource preferences. Radio resources may be released, for example, by handing over a connection of a second wireless device. In such a way, the wireless device  104  under consideration may be located in a radio system and/or a radio cell which is capable of satisfying the multi-service profile of the wireless device  104 .  
      With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the methodology according to embodiments of the invention is shown with a flow chart presentation.  
      With reference to  FIG. 4 , the method is started in  400 .  
      In  402 , a multi-service is associated with radio resource preferences according to characteristics of the multi-service, which radio resource preferences define preferred radio resources selected from a plurality of radio resources to deliver the multi-service to the wireless device.  
      In  404 , the multi-service is associated with radio resource preferences according to the multi-service capabilities of the wireless device.  
      In  406 , the multi-service is associated with radio resource preferences according to the multi-service capabilities of the network of the wireless telecommunications system.  
      In  408 , the multi-service is associated with radio resource preferences according to at least one element selected from a predefined group including: positioning accuracy of the telecommunications system, actual load of the network of the wireless telecommunications system, presumed battery consumption of the wireless device when using the preferred radio resources, coverage of the network of the wireless telecommunications system, network-operator-specific use of the network of the wireless telecommunications system, the particular network operator being the one which provides the multi-service.  
      In  410 , radio resources are allocated to the wireless device according to the radio resource preferences.  
      In  412 , radio resources are released for the wireless device according to the radio resource preferences.  
      In  414 , the method ends.  
      With reference to  FIG. 5 , further embodiments of the invention are shown.  
      In  500 , the method is started.  
      In  502 , a preferred radio system is selected for the wireless device from a group of radio systems of the wireless telecommunications system according to the radio resource preferences.  
      In  504 , a preferred radio cell is selected for the wireless device from a plurality of radio cells of the wireless telecommunications system according to the radio resource preferences.  
      In  506 , the method ends.  
      An aspect, the invention provides a computer program for executing a computer process; embodiments thereof are shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 .  
      The computer program may be implemented with a digital processor and memory means located in the aforementioned network elements.  
      The computer program may be stored in a data carrier, such as a CD (Compact Disc), a hard drive, a diskette, and a portable memory unit. The computer program may further be transferred with en electric signal in a data network, such as the Internet.  
      Even though the invention has been described above with reference to an example according to the accompanying drawings, it is clear that the invention is not restricted thereto but it can be modified in several ways within the scope of the appended claims.