Patent ID: 7336954

Claim:
In a wireless communication system, a method for soft handoff between first and second base stations using different signaling frame formats, comprising: initiating a soft handoff from a first base station to a second base station, wherein a protocol data unit format revision in use by the first base station is lower than a protocol data unit format revision in use by the second base station; configuring the second base station to communicate at the lower protocol data unit format revision of the first base station; directing a mobile station to upgrade, at an action time, to a mobile protocol data unit format revision associated with the higher protocol data unit format revision in use by the second base station before configuration; completing the soft handoff to the second base station; reconfiguring the second base station to communicate at the higher protocol data unit format revision in use by the second base station before configuration; and exchanging signaling frames between the mobile station and the second base station using the higher protocol data unit format revision in use by the second base station before configuration.