Patent ID: 8144661

Claim:
A method of handling a handover of packet data on a downlink to a mobile station over a core network, said core network comprising packet data support nodes and an access network comprising a radio network control node, said handover involving a change from a first packet data support node acting as an old, or current, source, packet data support node to a second packet data node acting as a new, target, packet data support node, comprising the steps of: completing a handover preparation procedure involving setting up communication channels to the mobile station over a new, target, radio network control node; duplicating received, original, data packets in the old, source, packet data node; sending the received, original data packets to the previous, source radio network control node; sending the duplicated data packets to the packet data node acting as a new, target, packet data node; sending the duplicated data packets to the mobile station from the packet data support node acting as a new, target, packet data node; and, sending an information message from the packet data support node acting as an old, source, packet data node to the source radio network control node, by using an information element of an existing message as the information message, the information message, or information element, comprising a zero, null, data message, indirectly indicating that no duplication of packet data is to be performed by the radio network control node.