Patent ID: 8837377

Claim:
A mobility management entity (MME) comprising: a first network interface which receives a tracking area update (TAU) request from a user equipment (UE); a processing unit which translates the TAU request into a location area update (LAU) request; and a second network interface in communication with the processing unit which sends the LAU request to a mobile switching center (MSC) selected as a tracking MSC thereby establishing the MME as the network node through which the tracking MSC will page the UE for subsequent mobile terminated voice calls, the second network interface receiving a LAU response from the tracking MSC that comprises at least information identifying one or more suitable location area identifiers (LAI(s)) to which handover is allowed and Network Resource Identifier (NRI) information, where the NRI information indicates that the tracking MSC controls the suitable LAI(s), and the processing unit translating the LAU response into a TAU response which is sent through the first network interface to the UE; and the processing unit which triggers handover of the UE to 2G/3G cells in support of mobile terminated voice calls wherein the processing unit uses a target 2G/3G cell selected by an evolved NodeB (eNB) for handover where the target 2G/3G cell belongs to at least one of the LAIs indicated by the suitable LAIs information.