Patent ID: 6940835

Claim:
A communications network for bi-directional transmission of a data packet between a mobile host and a corresponding host each having a unique network address, the network comprising: an Internet backbone; a first access network providing access to a corresponding host to the Internet backbone through a gateway; a second access network having a gateway coupled to the Internet backbone, and a plurality of interconnected edge routers each having at least a radio access station to bi-directionally communicate data to the mobile host, each radio access station having a predetermined geographical radio coverage area associated therewith; a mobility N-proxy in dialogue with the corresponding host through the access network, the N-proxy having means for communicating information to the corresponding host; and a mobility M-proxy having means for intercepting and terminating within itself the flow of a data packet originating from the mobile host by changing the addressing information of the data packet, such that the mobile host is thereafter communicating with the network by using a network address associated with the M-proxy, the M-proxy configured and arranged to maintain an active transmission session with the N-proxy, the M-proxy further adapted to start a new transmission session with the N-proxy in response to the mobile host changing its physical location from a first radio coverage area associated with a first edge router to a second radio coverage area associated with a second edge router, whereby the migration of the mobile host from the first radio coverage area to the second radio coverage area is substantially transparent to a network application running on the mobile host.