Patent ID: 7382748

Claim:
A method of assigning a home agent to a mobile network element while the mobile network element is in a visited network, comprising: receiving, at a foreign server in the visited network, a first message from a home server associated with a home network of the mobile network element, the first message containing an indication that assignment of a home agent is to be performed by the foreign server for the mobile network element; sending, from the foreign server, a second message to a node coupled to the visited network in response to receiving the first message, the second message being of a type different from the first message and containing a request that the node is to be assigned as the home agent for the mobile network element; receiving, at the foreign server, a third message containing an indication that assignment of a home agent in the visited network is to be performed, the third message containing information contained in a registration request message originated by the mobile network element to register on the visited network; and setting, in the foreign server, a field in the third message to indicate that the home agent can be assigned in the visited network; and sending the third message with the field set to the home server.