Patent ID: 8200215

Claim:
A method for controlling Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) encoding of speech signals that are to be sent between a first node and a second node in a wireless communication system, where an AMR encoder associated with each of the first node and the second node encodes speech signals in multiple modes having different degrees of robustness that correspond to different AMR source bit rates, where for a communication established between the first node and the second node, the first node transmits over a radio interface at a first data transmission rate, and where the AMR encoders associated with the first node and the second node generate source data for transmission at a first AMR source bit rate, the method comprising the steps of: determining a need to change the first node's first data transmission rate over the radio interface to a second different data transmission rate; in response to the determined need, determining a new AMR source bit rate for the first node and the second node; sending information to the second node, in advance of changing the data transmission rate over the radio interface, requesting the second node to change from a current AMR source bit rate towards the new AMR source bit rate; and after a predetermined time period sufficient for the second node to change from the current AMR source bit rate to the new AMR source bit rate expires or after the second node indicates a change to the new AMR source bit rate, sending an indication to the first node to start transmitting at the second data transmission rate over the radio interface.