Patent ID: 7817594

Claim:
A method for operating a device in a radio access network of a radio communication system, the device being arranged between a first network element and a second network element of the radio access network, the method comprising: receiving a first heartbeat at the device from the first network element at a first point in time; sending a first acknowledgement signal as a response to the first heartbeat, the first acknowledgement signal being sent from the device to the first network element at a second point in time, the first acknowledgement signal signaling to the first network element that a connection exists between the first network element and the second network element; sending a second heartbeat from the device to the second network element at a third point in time; and sending a second acknowledgement signal from the second network element to the device upon the second network element receiving the second heartbeat, the second acknowledgement signal signaling to the device that a connection exists between the device and the second network element wherein the first acknowledgement signal is at least partially sent even if no second acknowledgement signal was received between the first point in time and the second point in time.