Patent ID: 6973309

Claim:
A method for allowing handoffs for wireless mobile nodes using pre-paid mobile services on a mobile network, comprising: receiving a first request message on a first non-mobile service network device on a mobile network from a wireless mobile node to establish a communications session for the wireless mobile node; sending an update message from the first non-mobile service network device to a second non-mobile network device control node requesting a handoff marker, wherein the handoff marker is used to determine if the communications session to be established is a new communications session or a handoff communications session; receiving a response message on the first non-mobile service network device from the second non-mobile network device control node; determining on the first non-mobile network service device whether the response message includes a handoff marker, and if not, generating a new handoff marker with a value indicating the wireless mobile node is establishing a new communications session; sending the generated handoff marker to an authentication authorization and accounting server in an access request message to allow the authentication authorization and accounting server to differentiate between the establishment of a new communications session and a handoff of an existing communications session to another non-mobile service network device; receiving an access response message from the authentication authorization and accounting server, wherein the access response message includes account information for pre-paid mobile services purchased for the wireless mobile node that will be used by the first non-mobile service network device to provide pre-paid billing services for the wireless mobile node; sending the generated handoff marker to the second non-mobile network device control node in an update message, wherein the second non-mobile network device uses the generated handoff marker in subsequent messages sent to the first non-mobile network service device to allow handoff and redirection of communications sessions established by the wireless mobile node.