System and method for network access using a relay

A method for operating a relay node in a network, the method comprising:

• receiving, by the relay node from a control node of the network, an initial downlink message of an access procedure, the initial downlink message addressed in accordance with an identity of the relay node, and the initial downlink message including:
• a setup request to establish a connection between the control node and a remote device without use of a medium access control layer between the control node and the remote device, and
• an indication that the initial downlink message is associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB) for transmission to the remote device;
• receiving, by the relay node from the remote device, an initial uplink message of the access procedure, the initial uplink message comprising:
• a request to connect to the control node of the network,
• a mobile subscriber identifier of the remote device, the mobile subscriber identifier being assigned to the remote device for exclusive use by the remote device within a wireless tracking area of the network, and
• an indication that the initial uplink message is associated with the first SRB for transmission to the control node;
• and
• sending, by the relay node, the setup request to the remote device.

A method for operating a control node of a network, the method comprising:

• receiving, by the control node from a relay device, a forwarded request to connect to the control node by a remote device, the forwarded request being an initial message received by the control node in an access procedure, and the forwarded request including:
• a mobile subscriber identifier being assigned to the remote device for exclusive use by the remote device within a wireless tracking area of the network, and
• an indication that the forwarded request is associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB) for transmission from the remote device to the control node;
• and
• configuring, by the control node for the remote device, a context without a medium access control layer between the control node and the remote device, in accordance with the mobile subscriber identifier.

A user equipment (UE) comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the one or more processors, the programming including instructions to configure the UE to:
• receive a mobile subscriber identifier for the UE, the mobile subscriber identifier being assigned to the UE for exclusive use by the UE within a wireless tracking area of a network, and
• transmit, to a relay node, an initial message of an access procedure for accessing a user data service of the network without use of a medium access control layer between the UE and a control node of the network, wherein the initial message comprises:
• a request to connect to the network,
• a mobile subscriber identifier of the remote device, the mobile subscriber identifier being assigned to the remote device for exclusive use by the remote device within a wireless tracking area of the network, and
• an indication that the initial uplink message is associated with a first SRB for transmission to the control node;
• and
• send, from the relay node to the control node, the initial uplink message to the control node in a second SRB, and the indication that the initial uplink message is associated with the first SRB.

A relay node comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the one or more processors, the programming including instructions to configure the relay node to:
• receive, from a control node of a network, an initial downlink message of an access procedure, wherein the initial downlink message is addressed in accordance with an identity of the relay node, and wherein the initial downlink message includes:
• a setup request to establish a connection between the control node and a remote device without use of a medium access control layer between the control node and the remote device, and
• an indication that the initial downlink message is associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB) for transmission to the remote device,
• receive, from the remote device, an initial uplink message of the access procedure, wherein the initial uplink message comprises:
• a request to connect to the control node of the network,
• a mobile subscriber identifier of the remote device, the mobile subscriber identifier being assigned to the remote device for exclusive use by the remote device within a wireless tracking area of the network, and
• an indication that the initial uplink message is associated with a first SRB for transmission to the control node;
• and
• send the setup request to the remote device.

A control node comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the one or more processors, the programming including instructions to configure the control node to:
• receive, from a relay device, a forwarded request to connect to the control node by a remote device, wherein the forwarded request is an initial message received by the control node in an access procedure, the forwarded request including:
• a mobile subscriber identifier being assigned to the remote device for exclusive use by the remote device within a wireless tracking area of a network, and
• an indication that the forwarded request is associated with a first signaling radio bearer (SRB) for transmission from the remote device to the control node, and
• configure, for the remote device a context without a medium access control layer between the control node and the remote device, in accordance with the mobile subscriber identifier.