Patent ID: 6879811

Claim:
A system for providing cellular telephone service during cluster testing, comprising: (a) a new mobile switching center having a temporary point code on which a cellular telephone can register; (b) an old mobile switching center having a second point code, wherein the temporary point code is different from the second point code; (c) a trunk group connected between the new mobile switching center and the old mobile switching center to route one or more telephone calls between the old mobile switching center and the new mobile switching center; (d) a communication link connected between the new mobile switching center and one or more signal transfer points to provide a communication path for sending messages between the old mobile switching center and the new mobile switching center; and (e) a home location register for storing location information comprising an identification of the cellular telephone and a point code of the new mobile switching center, wherein the home location register receives a registration message comprising location information from the new mobile switching center when the cellular telephone registers.