SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TIGHT INTER-WORKING BETWEEN WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK (WLAN) AND UNIVERSAL MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (UMTS)

摘要

In a system having a PLMN (12) and a WLAN IP GW (30), an Iur interface providing handover between a PLMN and the WIP-GW. Mobile internet protocol (Mobile IP) provides session management and data tunneling between the PLMN (home agent) and the WLAN. The WIP-GW functions as the foreign agent toward the PLMN. Services are provided by the PLMN MIP over DIAMETER for registration, authentication and subscriber management, working into the HLR/HSS (14) and the CGF (18) in the PLMN. The use of a single architecture to support the loose inter-working scenarios is such that the architecture minus the Iur interface and MIP becomes a loose inter-working architecture. The UMTS PLMN billing platform is made via the DIAME¬TER/UMTS inter-working. Authentication is provided by the UMTS PLMN HSS/HLR. The architecture concept can be broadened to cover the inter-working of other access technologies with UMTS.