Patent ID: 8289922

Claim:
A method for handling mobile terminal capability information, including: receiving a capability message with at least one container from a mobile terminal at a first network, each container including content comprising capability information relevant to capabilities of the mobile terminal for communication using a particular Radio Access Technology (RAT) and a head comprising an indicator uniquely identifying said particular RAT associated with the capability information in the corresponding container in relation to other RATs; reading the indicator associated with a first container of the capability message; determining the capability information in the first container is relevant to a first RAT based on the read indicator; when the first network is not capable of communicating with the mobile terminal using said first RAT, sending a query message with the first container to a second network neighboring the first network, the second network being capable of communicating with the mobile terminal using the first RAT; and receiving an answer message from the second network at the first network in response to the query message, the answer message including at least a portion of the capability information from the first container in a generalized format, wherein the capability information in the generalized format was derived by the second network after decoding the capability information in the first container, wherein the capability information received from the second network in the answer message is available to the first network to support decisions in conjunction with serving the mobile terminal.