Patent ID: 8489129

Claim:
A method of transmitting text/multimedia messages over a bearer interface of a mobile network, the method comprising: receiving a text/multimedia message in a first network element of the mobile network; communicating with a second network element of the mobile network using a signaling interface to select a bearer connection on a non-voice circuit-mode bearer interface to use for routing the text/multimedia message to the second network element; and routing the text/multimedia message to the second network element using the selected bearer connection on the non-voice circuit-mode bearer interface; wherein if the non-voice circuit-mode bearer interface is not available or not supported then the method further includes: communicating with the second network element using the signaling interface to select a bearer connection on a voice bearer interface to use for routing the text/multimedia message to the second network element; and routing the text/multimedia message to the second network element using the selected bearer connection on the voice bearer interface.