METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING INTEGRITY PROTECTION IN HANDOVERS

摘要

A method is performed in an infrastructure equipment acting as a target for a handover of a wireless communications device from another infrastructure equipment acting as a source infrastructure equipment. The source infrastructure equipment and the target infrastructure equipment forming part of a wireless communications network, but may be configured in different parts, such as for example different tracking areas to use or not to use an integrity protection scheme for protecting the integrity of user plane data transmitted to or received from wireless communications devices. The method comprises receiving a handover request message indicating a request for handover of the wireless communications device from the source infrastructure equipment to the target infrastructure equipment, receiving an indication from the source infrastructure equipment as to whether or not user plane data is being transmitted to or received from the wireless access network via the source infrastructure equipment using an integrity protection scheme, determining whether or not the integrity protection scheme for the user plane data is supported by the target infrastructure equipment, transmitting a handover command to the source infrastructure equipment to indicate to the source infrastructure equipment that the source infrastructure equipment should handover the wireless communications device to indicateto the source infrastructure equipment, and providing an indication as to whether or not the integrity protection scheme can be used for transmitting or receiving user plane data via the target infrastructure equipment. The indication may be provided forexample as an information element in the handover command. Accordingly integrity protection of user plane data can be enabled or disabled as the wireless communications device roams to different parts of a wireless communications network in which the integrity protection scheme is enabled or disabled and respond by appropriately configuring its radio access bearers.