Paging mechanisms for link-budget-limited user devices

A mobility management entity configured for operating in a communication network, the mobility management entity comprising:

• a processing agent configured to execute program instructions, wherein the processing agent is configured to cause the mobility management entity to:
• in response to determining that a user equipment (UE) device is link budget limited, assign a temporary UE identifier to the UE device based on said determining;
• transmit a protocol message to a base station through the communication network, wherein the protocol message indicates that the UE device is to be paged and includes the assigned temporary UE identifier;
• in response to determining that the second UE device is no longer link budget limited, assign a second temporary UE identifier to the second UE device, wherein the second temporary UE identifier is selected from to a second set of temporary UE identifiers different from a set of temporary UE identifiers reserved for a class of link-budget-limited UE devices;
• and
• transmit a second protocol message to the base station, wherein the second protocol message indicates that the second UE device is to be paged and includes the assigned second temporary identifier.

A method for operating a base station in a communication network, the method comprising:

• receiving, via the at least one radio, a protocol message from a node of the communication network, wherein the protocol message indicates that a UE device is to be paged and includes an System Architecture evolution Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) value assigned to the UE device;
• in response to determining that the S-TMSI value belongs to a reserved subset of a space of possible S-TMSI values, paging, via the at least one radio, the UE device using one or more paging enhancement mechanisms, wherein the reserved subset is reserved for link-budget-limited UE devices;
• receiving, via the at least one radio, a second protocol message from the node of the communication network, wherein the second protocol message indicates that a second UE device is to be paged and includes a second S-TMSI value assigned to the second UE device;
• and
• in response to determining that the second S-TMSI value belongs to a set complement of the reserved subset, paging, via the at least one radio, the second UE device without using any of the one or more paging enhancement mechanisms.