Voice service handover
View Patent ↗A user entity (UE) such as a smartphone is configured to connect to both Wi-Fi and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular network for voice and data services. For voice, the UE supports both Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi). When the UE is connected to VoWiFi and roaming from a first Wi-Fi access point to a second Wi-Fi access point, the UE and Mobility Management Entity in the cellular network carry out a preparatory handover to VoLTE to prevent service loss in the event of an unsuccessful VoWiFi connection from the second Wi-Fi access point.
1. A method of managing a mobile communications device data link to a voice service accessible via a cellular data network and a wireless local area network, a mobile communications device having a cellular network interface and a wireless local area network interface, the mobile communications device being operable to establish and maintain a communications session to the voice service, the mobile communications device being connected to the voice service via a first wireless local area network access point, the method comprising:
detecting when the wireless local area network interface sends at least one probe message to attempt to join a second access point;
sending a request to join a cellular network, the request including an indication that the request is for establishing a provisional link to a voice service accessible via the cellular network;
monitoring for establishment of a data link to the voice service via the second access point;
after expiry of a predetermined period of time, determining whether the data link has been established; and
if the data link cannot be established, sending a further instruction to the cellular data network to complete the connection to the voice service via the cellular network; and
connecting to the voice service via the cellular network.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request is generated in response to an association request generated by the wireless local area network interface to the second access point.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request for a provisional link includes a data field in the request which is indicative of a provisional request.
4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising blocking VoWiFi status update messages after the instruction to complete the connection to the voice service has been sent.
5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising disabling the wireless local area network interface after the instruction to complete the connection to the voice service has been sent.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the cellular network is a Long Term Evolution network and the voice service is accessed in accordance with Voice over LTE.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless local area network is a Wi-Fi network and the voice service is accessed in accordance with VoWiFi.
8. An apparatus for managing a data link of a mobile communications device to a cellular network voice service accessible via a cellular data network and a wireless local area network, the mobile communications device having a cellular network interface and a wireless local area network interface, the mobile communications device being operable to establish and maintain a communications session to the voice service, the mobile communications device being connected to the voice service via a first wireless local area network access point, comprising:
means for detecting when the wireless local area network interface sends at least one probe message to join a second access point;
means for sending a request to join a cellular network, the request including an indication that the request is for establishing a provisional link to a voice service accessible via the cellular network;
means for monitoring for establishment of a data link to the voice service via the second access point;
means for determining whether the data link has been established within a predetermined period of time; and
means for sending a further instruction to the cellular data network to complete the connection to the voice service via the cellular network, if the data link has not been established within the predetermined period of time.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the request is generated in response to an association request generated by the wireless local area network interface to the second access point.
10. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the request for a provisional link includes a data field in the request which is indicative of a provisional request.
11. The apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising blocking VoWiFi status update messages after the instruction to complete the connection to the voice service has been sent.
12. The apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising disabling the wireless local area network interface after the instruction to complete the connection to the voice service has been sent.
13. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the cellular network is a Long Term Evolution network and the voice service is accessed in accordance with Voice over LTE.
14. The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the wireless local area network is a Wi-Fi network and the voice service is accessed in accordance with VoWiFi.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing processor executable instructions which, when executed by a programmable processor, cause a mobile device to manage a mobile communications device data link to a voice service accessible via a cellular data network and a wireless local area network, a mobile communications device having a cellular network interface and a wireless local area network interface, the mobile communications device being operable to establish and maintain a communications session to the voice service, the mobile communications device being connected to the voice service via a first wireless local area network access point, the method comprising:
detecting when the wireless local area network interface sends at least one probe message to attempt to join a second access point;
sending a request to join a cellular network, the request including an indication that the request is for establishing a provisional link to a voice service accessible via the cellular network;
monitoring for establishment of a data link to the voice service via the second access point;
after expiry of a predetermined period of time, determining whether the data link has been established; and
if the data link cannot be established, sending a further instruction to the cellular data network to complete the connection to the voice service via the cellular network; and
connecting to the voice service via the cellular network.