Patent ID: 8483689

Claim:
A method for managing a mobile device handoff from a Macro Base station to a Femto Base Station, the method comprising: receiving periodically a subscriber list from each of neighboring Femto Base Stations by the Macro Base Station; storing Femto Base Station information and corresponding subscriber list by the Macro Base Station; establishing a connection between the mobile device and the Macro Base Station; identifying the mobile device to a corresponding Femto Base Station by the Macro Base Station based on the stored Femto Base Station information and the corresponding subscriber list; transmitting a unicast message to the mobile device by the Macro Base Station, wherein the unicast message includes the Femto Base Station information and neighboring Macro Base Station information; receiving a scan request by Macro Base Station from the mobile device; sending a scan response by the Macro Base Station to the mobile device, wherein the scan response comprises Femto Base Station identifier and selected Macro Base Station identifiers; receiving a handoff request from the mobile device; and sending a handoff response to the mobile device.