Patent ID: 8873448

Claim:
In a wireless communications network comprising a plurality of multicast and broadcast service (MBS) zones each of which comprises at least one base station, a method for receiving a MBS, the method comprising: receiving the MBS at the mobile terminal operating currently in a first MBS zone; receiving at the mobile terminal a multicast/broadcast transmission from a base station in the first MBS zone, comprising a multicast connection identification (MCID) associated with a second MBS zone other than the first MBS zone, the MCID defining a connection along which the MBS can be provided for the mobile terminal in the second MBS zone; storing at the mobile terminal the information regarding the MCID associated with the second MBS zone; and upon detecting that the mobile terminal is capable of receiving the MBS in the second MBS zone, utilizing the stored MCID associated with the second MBS zone to begin receiving the MBS in the second MBS zone before registration of the mobile terminal in the second MBS zone, when the mobile moves from the first MBS zone to the second MBS zone during a handover procedure.