Inter-system handover and multi-connectivity via an integrated small cell and WiFi gateway

A method performed by an integrated small cell and WiFi (ISW) gateway in a communications network, the method comprising:

• receiving, over a first interface and from a wireless local area network (W LAN) access node, a create session request message comprising an indication of a handover of a user equipment (UE) session from a home evolved node B (HeNB) to a trusted WLAN, an access point name (APN), a multi-connection indication, an identifier of the UE, and a radio access technology (RAT) type;
• sending, over a second interface and to a control plane entity, the create session request message comprising the handover indication, the APN, the multi-connection indication, the identifier of the UE, and the RAT type;
• receiving, over the second interface and from the control plane entity, a create session response message, wherein the create session response message comprises general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel information and bearer parameters, wherein the bearer parameters comprise an indication of the tunnel established between the WLAN and the ISW gateway;
• and
• sending, over the first interface and to the WLAN access node, the create session response message including the GTP tunnel information and the bearer parameters, wherein at least one of the create session request message and the create session response message comprises an indication of a multi-connection access routing policy.

A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor of an integrated small cell and WiFi (ISW) gateway in a communications network, cause the ISW gateway to perform operations comprising:

• receiving, over a first interface and from a wireless local area network (W LAN) access node, a create session request message comprising an indication of a handover of a user equipment (UE) session from a home evolved node B (HeNB) to a trusted WLAN, an access point name (APN), a multi-connection indication, an identifier of the UE, and a radio access technology (RAT) type;
• sending, over a second interface and to a control plane entity, the create session request message comprising the handover indication, the APN, the multi-connection indication, the identifier of the UE, and the RAT type;
• receiving, over the second interface and from the control plane entity, a create session response message, wherein the create session response message comprises general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel information and bearer parameters, wherein the bearer parameters comprise an indication of the tunnel established between the WLAN and the ISW gateway;
• and
• sending, over the first interface and to the WLAN access node, the create session response message including the GTP tunnel information and the bearer parameters, wherein at least one of the create session request message and the create session response message comprises an indication of a multi-connection access routing policy.