Patent ID: 8224322

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving a registration request from a first visiting mobile subscriber unit at a first distributed mobile architecture (DMA) node of a DMA network that includes a plurality of coverage sites, wherein the DMA network includes at least the first DMA node and a second DMA node, wherein the first DMA node is associated with a first coverage site of the DMA network, and wherein the second DMA node is associated with a second coverage site of the DMA network that is different from the first coverage site; in response to receipt of the registration request at the first DMA node, storing an identifier of the first visiting mobile subscriber unit at a first visitor location register (VLR) located at the first DMA node, wherein the first VLR stores first registration information associated with a first set of visiting mobile subscriber units that are located within the first coverage site of the DMA network and that are supported by the first DMA node; transmitting the identifier of the first visiting mobile subscriber unit from the first DMA node to a visitor location register (VLR) gateway via the second DMA node of the DMA network, wherein the VLR gateway is located at a different location than the first DMA node, wherein a second VLR that is located at the second DMA node stores second registration information associated with a second set of visiting mobile subscriber units that are located within the second coverage site of the DMA network and that are supported by the second DMA node, wherein the VLR gateway stores an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the first DMA node and the identifier of the first visiting mobile subscriber unit at a memory location within the VLR gateway to indicate that the first visiting mobile subscriber unit has registered at the first DMA node, wherein the VLR gateway stores the first registration information associated with the first set of visiting mobile subscriber units that are located within the first coverage site of the DMA network and that are supported by the first DMA node and stores the second registration information associated with the second set of visiting mobile subscriber units that are located within the second coverage site of the DMA network and supported by the second DMA node, and wherein at least one mobile subscriber unit in the first set of visiting mobile subscriber units is associated with a home coverage site that is distinct from the first coverage site and the second coverage site, wherein registration information associated with a particular visiting mobile subscriber unit includes an identifier of the particular visiting mobile subscriber unit and an IP address of a particular DMA node that supports the particular visiting mobile subscriber unit, and wherein the VLR gateway is coupled to an element of a wide area wireless network.