Patent ID: 6977914

Claim:
A method for maintaining reception of a broadcast channel at a mobile device during handover from a first transmitter for a first cell to a second transmitter for a second cell, the method comprising the steps of: setting a link-level access parameter on the mobile device for receiving datagrams associated with a logical identifier while the mobile device is in communication with the first transmitter, the link-level access parameter being selected from the group consisting of a time slice for a synchronized series of transmission bursts from the first and second transmitters, synchronized encoding for transmissions from the first and second transmitters, and synchronized digital sequencing for transmissions from the first and second transmitters; in response to setting the link-level access parameter, receiving from the first transmitter a first datagram associated with the logical identifier; determining whether the second cell is one of a group of adjacent cells having common link-level access parameters for multicast broadcasts; and if the second cell is one of the group of adjacent cells having common link-level access parameters, continuing the link-level access parameter on the mobile device during handover from the first cell to the second cell for continued reception of the broadcast channel; and in response to continuing the link-level access parameter, receiving from the second transmitter a second datagram associated with the logical identifier; wherein the step of determining comprises receiving from the second transmitter in the second cell an administrative message identifying the second cell as one of the group of cells having common link-level access parameters for multicast broadcasts.