Patent ID: 7724656

Claim:
A method for managing an overload or congestion condition between nodes in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: monitoring for congestion in the RAN caused by transporting information between a base station and a radio network controller or two radio network controllers contained in the RAN; detecting congestion over a base station-to-radio network controller interface or a radio network controller-to-radio network controller interface within the RAN, said congestion being caused by transporting the information between a base station and a radio network controller or two radio network controllers contained in the RAN; and reducing the detected congestion over the base station-to-radio network controller interface or the radio network controller-to-radio network controller interface within the RAN caused by transporting the information between a base station and a radio network controller or two radio network controllers contained in the RAN, wherein mobile terminals that can request service from the RAN over a radio interface are not nodes contained within the RAN, and wherein the RAN includes a first radio network controller coupled to a radio base station, and wherein the radio network controller detects uplink congestion over the base station and a radio network controller interface between the radio network controller and the radio base station, wherein the reducing the detected congestion includes taking an action to reduce a parameter associated with a bit rate at which the information is transported over the base station and radio network controller interface, and wherein the bit rate parameter is reduced based on an absolute bit rate parameter value or on a relative bit rate parameter value, wherein the absolute bit rate parameter value corresponds to a maximum bit rate or transmission rower and the relative bit rate parameter value corresponds to a percentage or fraction of a current bit rate or transmission power.