Patent ID: 7664503

Claim:
A method of sharing a signaling bearer connection on an Iu interface for a Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS), where a Radio Network Controller (RNC) establishes a shared signaling bearer for MBMS service on the Iu interface, comprising: (a) receiving, by the RNC, an MBMS Notification message for an MBMS service, from a Service General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Supporting Node (SGSN); (b) constructing, by the RNC, Signaling Connection Control Part (SCCP) Connection Request message according to the contents of the notification message; (c) sending, by the RNC, the SCCP Connection Request message to the SGSN, to request establish establishment of an SCCP signaling connection; and (d) receiving, by the RNC, an SCCP Connection Confirmation message from the SGSN, which indicates that a shared Iu signaling connection has been successfully established for the MBMS service.