Methods for improved inter-radio access technology measurements

1. A method at a mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurement configuration information from the network;

when the device is actively connected, determining whether a triggering criterion is met, based on the received information;

if the triggering criterion is met, increasing a time available for measurements, the increasing comprising:

reporting an incorrect capability to the network, the incorrect capability indicating that the mobile device does not support High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) while the mobile device does support HSDPA; and

indicating to the network a modulation format and a transport block size to lower downlink timeslot alloeation requirements.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the time available for measurements is increased by increasing the number of slots available for measurement.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the measurements are Inter-RAT measurements.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the triggering criterion is met when deteriorating cell radio link quality is detected.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the triggering criterion is met when measured CQI is less than a pre-determined threshold value.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising reporting a lower than actual CQI value to the network.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the triggering criterion is met when measured signal strength falls below a threshold value.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the threshold value is determined based on statistical data collected by the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the triggering criterion is based on a mobility pattern of the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indicated modulation format is quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (16-QAM) or 64-Quadature Amplitude Modulation (64-QAM).

11. A mobile device comprising,

a processor; and

a communications subsystem,

wherein the processor and communications subsystem cooperate to:

receive inter-radio access technology (RAT) measurement configuration information from the network;

when the device is actively connected, determine whether a triggering criterion is met, based on the received information;

if the triggering criterion is met, increasing a time available for measurements, the increasing comprising:

reporting an incorrect capability to the network, the incorrect capability indicating that the mobile device does not support High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) while the mobile device does support HSDPA; and

indicating to the network a modulation format and a transport block size to lower downlink timeslot allocation requirements.

12. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the time available for measurements is increased by increasing the number of slots available for measurement.

13. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the measurements are Inter-RAT measurements.

14. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the triggering criterion is met when measured CQI is less than a pre-determined threshold value.

15. The mobile device of claim 14 , wherein the processor and communications subsystem further cooperate to report a lower than actual CQI value to the network.

16. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the triggering criterion is met when measured signal strength falls below a threshold value.

17. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the triggering criterion is based on a mobility pattern of the mobile device.

18. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the triggering criterion is met when deteriorating cell radio link quality is detected.