Jitter management for packet data network backhaul of call data

1. A method of managing packet data network jitter, comprising:

receiving and storing, by a buffer, a first call data associated with a mobile network communication session;

dropping, by the buffer, a second call data that is older than the first call data using a processor if required to make room in the buffer for the first call data; and

transmitting, by a communication, interface, the first call data from the buffer to a destination with which the buffer is associated.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first data and the second call data comprise packet data network packets or time division multiplexing frames.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of dropping comprises:

determining whether the second call data is older than the first call data when the second call data is associated with a first call sequence number that precedes a second call sequence number associated with the first call data.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of receiving and storing comprises:

associating a timestamp with the first call data.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the step of dropping comprises:

determining which of the first call data and the second call data to drop based upon the timestamp.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of dropping comprises:

dropping the first call data when the first call data is received after another call data has already been transmitted with a first sequence number subsequent to a second sequence number of the first call data.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of dropping comprises:

dropping the second call data based on a determination that the buffer is full.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

managing, by the buffer, jitter associated with transporting the first call data via a packet data network.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the method is implemented on one or more of the following: a base transceiver station, a base station controller, and an aggregation gateway.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of receiving and storing comprises:

extracting the first call data from a packet used to transport the first call data.

11. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

placing the first call data in the buffer in a buffer position that is determined by using a sequence number associated with the first call data.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the step of placing comprises:

placing the first call data in the buffer in the buffer position that is determined by using a Real-time Transport Protocol sequence number.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of dropping comprises:

dropping a number of the oldest call data in the buffer, the number of the oldest call data being dropped is one more than the difference between a maximum depth associated with the buffer and a minimum depth associated with the buffer.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the buffer comprises a queue.

15. A method of managing packet data network jitter, comprising:

waiting for a buffer to fill to a prescribed depth with call data; and

transmitting, by a communication interface, a next call data from the buffer to a destination with which the buffer is associated once the buffer has filled to the prescribed depth.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the step of transmitting comprises:

transmitting the next call data without waiting for the buffer to be filled to the prescribed depth when a prescribed transmission time has been reached.

17. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the step of transmitting comprises:

transmitting a next call data that is next in the sequence number order to the destination at a prescribed interval without waiting for the buffer to be filled to the prescribed depth when the call data filling the buffer is received in a sequence number order.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the step of waiting comprises:

waiting for the buffer to fill to the prescribed depth with the call data, the prescribed depth with the call data being less than a maximum depth; and wherein the step of transmitting comprises:

transmitting the call data in the buffer until the buffer is depleted.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the step of transmitting comprises:

transmitting the call data at a prescribed interval until the buffer is depleted; and

waiting for the buffer to fill back to the prescribed depth when the buffer is depleted, before transmitting.

20. A system for managing packet data network jitter, comprising:

a processor configured to wait for a buffer to fill to a prescribed depth with call data; and

a communication interface configured to transmit a next call data from the buffer to a destination with which the buffer is associated once the buffer has filled to the prescribed depth.