Patent ID: 8363657

Claim:
A broadband network access system comprising: one or more Access Service Networks (ASNs), each ASN coupled with a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server; a plurality of Functional Entities (FEs) implemented in respective ones of the ASNs, wherein each FE is associated with a broadband network access system control function, each FE controlling a function associated with a respective subscriber station (SS); wherein a first FE controls an SS function of a first SS; a plurality of SIP agents, each SIP agent associated with a FE or a group of FEs; wherein the SIP server coupled with the ASN associated with the first FE, the SIP server coupled with the ASN associated with a second FE, and SIP agents associated with the first and second FEs are configured to establish a SIP session between the first and second FEs; and wherein broadband network access system control messages are exchanged over the established session to transfer the SS function from the first FE to the second FE.