System and method for distributed mobility management with GPRS tunneling protocol

1. A method for mobility management, the method comprising:

establishing a first Packet Data Network (PDN) connection between a user equipment (UE) and a first Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) associated with a first group of Serving Gateways (SGW) within a first geographical area, the first PDN connection including at least one SGW among the first group of SGWs;

establishing communication with a handover destination SGW associated with a second PGW, the second PGW associated with a second group of SGWs within a second geographical area; and

upon a determination that the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, establishing a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel connection between the first PGW and the handover destination SGW, and updating the first PDN connection to use the GTP tunnel connection between the first PGW and the handover destination SGW, the updated first PDN connection not including any SGWs in the first group of SGWs.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handover destination SGW is collocated with the second PGW.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein before the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, the PDN connection includes a first eNB in the first geographical area, and after the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, the PDN connection includes a second eNB in the second geographical area.

4. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

receiving, before the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, a PDN connection request from the UE.

5. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising, after the UE moves to the second geographical area:

closing the first PDN connection; and

establishing a second PDN connection between the second PGW, at least one SGW among the second group of SGWs, and the UE.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first geographical area is adjacent to the second geographical area.

7. A mobility management entity (MME) comprising:

a

a non-transitory memory storage comprising instructions; and

one or more processors in communication with the memory storage, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to:

establish a first Packet Data Network (PDN) connection between a user equipment (UE) and a first Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) associated with a first group of Serving Gateways (SGW) within a first geographical area, the first PDN connection including at least one SGW among the first group of SGWs;

establish communication with a handover destination SGW associated with a second PGW, the second PGW associated with a second group of SGWs within a second geographical area; and

upon a determination that the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, establish a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel connection between the first PGW and the handover destination SGW, and update the first PDN connection to use the GTP tunnel connection between the first PGW and the handover destination SGW, the updated first PDN connection not including any SGWs in the first group of SGWs.

8. The MME of claim 7 , wherein the handover destination SGW is collocated with the second PGW.

9. The MME of claim 7 , wherein before the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, the PDN connection includes a first eNB in the first geographical area, and after the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, the PDN connection includes a second eNB in the second geographical area.

10. The MME of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions to:

receive, before the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, a PDN connection request from the UE.

11. The MME of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions to, after the UE moves to the second geographical area:

close the first PDN connection; and

establish a second PDN connection between the second PGW, at least one SGW among the second group of SGWs, and the UE.

12. The MME of claim 7 , wherein the first geographical area is adjacent to the second geographical area.

13. A system for mobility management, the system comprising:

a first Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) device associated with a first group of Serving Gateways (SGW) within a first geographical area;

a second PGW device associated with a second group of SGWs within a second geographical area;

a Mobility Management Entity (MME) device communicatively coupled to the first and second PGWs, the MME configured to:

establish a first Packet Data Network (PDN) connection between a user equipment (UE) and the first PGW, the first PDN connection including at least one SGW among the first group of SGWs;

establish communication with a handover destination SGW associated with the second PGW; and

upon a determination that the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, establish a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol (GTP) tunnel connection between the first PGW and the handover destination SGW, and update the first PDN connection to use the GTP tunnel connection between the first PGW and the handover destination SGW, the updated first PDN connection not including any SGWs in the first group of SGWs.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the handover destination SGW is collocated with the second PGW.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein before the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, the PDN connection includes a first eNB in the first geographical area, and after the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, the PDN connection includes a second eNB in the second geographical area.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the MME is further configured to:

receive, before the UE moves from the first geographical area to the second geographical area, a PDN connection request from the UE.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the MME is further configured to, after the UE moves to the second geographical area:

close the first PDN connection; and

establish a second PDN connection between the second PGW, at least one SGW among the second group of SGWs, and the UE.