Patent ID: 7477625

Claim:
A method of performing an inter-network handoff, comprising: determining whether or not a handoff of a Mobile Station (MS) is required from a serving base station (BS) to a target BS by analyzing a Pilot Strength Measurement Message (PSMM) received from the MS where the serving BS provides a first data rate service to the MS and the target BS supports a second data rate service, the first date rate being greater than the second date rate; determining whether or not the MS can accommodate the second data rate service of the target BS when it is determined that the handoff is required; receiving, from the MS, information of supplemental channels (SCH) assigned to the MS, wherein receiving the information of the SCH includes: requesting, by the serving BS, a SCH retrieval through an extended supplemental channel assignment message (ESCAM), and acknowledging, by the MS, the SCH retrieval through an ESCAM_Ack in response to the ESCAM; and performing the handoff when the MS can accommodate the second data rate service of the target BS; completing the handoff by resetting parameters of the MS; and informing the target BS of completion of the handoff through a handoff complete message (HCM), wherein the target BS performs power control using one of a Power Measurement Report Message (PMRM) and an Erasure Indicator Bit (EIB) after receiving the HCM.