Patent ID: 8612654

Claim:
A method of determining the topology of a mobile communications network, comprising: monitoring messages exchanged on an Iub interface between a Node B and a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in an Universal Mobile Telecommunication System _(UMTS) network; identifying one or more channels on the Iub interface transmitting measurement control information or system information messages; identifying Radio Resource Control (RRC) measurement control messages on the one or more channels; identifying Node B Application Part (NBAP) system information update messages on the one or more channels; extracting coding information or frequency information sent to a Node B or to a mobile station and repeating the extracting, using and determining steps at periodic intervals to update network topology by adding newly detected cells and deleting detected deleted cells during each interval; using the coding information or frequency information, identifying cells currently neighboring a cell allocated to the mobile station; and determining positions of cells allocated to the RNC.