Patent ID: 7369522

Claim:
A method of managing access network protocol context in an access system comprising a plurality of mobile nodes, access nodes serving said mobile nodes, a first gateway node for interfacing a first part of the access system with external networks, and a first mobility entity which is associated with said first gateway node and arranged to provide macro mobility management services to the mobile nodes while registered to a respective part of the access system, said method comprising: opening at least one access network protocol context at a first access node to activate a packet data address and make the packet data address known to the first gateway node in order to establish a connection between one of said plurality of mobile nodes and said first gateway node, initiating a macro mobility registration over said access network connection between the mobile node and the first mobility entity, monitoring at the first gateway node the macro mobility registration, determining on the basis of the result of the registration that at least one access network protocol context is no longer necessary, including determining at the first gateway node, in response to detecting a failure in said macro mobility registration, whether it is possible to retry the macro mobility registration or whether the registration has irrecoverably failed, triggering a deletion of the unnecessary access network protocol context.