Methods, apparatuses, related computer program product and data structure for deciding on a signaling scheme for handover

A user equipment (UE) capable of handover, using one of a delta configuration signaling scheme or a full configuration signaling scheme, from a source base station (BS) supporting a first protocol release to a target BS supporting a second protocol release, said UE being configured according to a first configuration including parameters defined in said first protocol release, the UE comprising:

• a transceiver configured to receive a handover command message from the source BS, wherein on a condition that the first protocol release is newer than the second protocol release, the handover command message comprises a one-bit indication that the UE perform a full configuration, wherein the UE is configured according to the first protocol release used by the source BS;
• and
• a processor configured to, on a condition that the handover command message comprises the one-bit indication, release parameters included in said first configuration and perform a full configuration procedure for handover to the target BS so that the UE is configured according to a second configuration including parameters defined in said second protocol release.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a set of instructions for execution by at least one processor of a user equipment (UE) for supporting the UE handover, using one of a delta configuration signaling scheme or a full configuration signaling scheme, from a source base station (BS) supporting a first protocol release to a target BS supporting a second protocol release, said UE being configured according to a first configuration including parameters defined in said first protocol release, the set of instructions comprising:

• a first instruction segment for receiving a handover command message from the source BS, wherein on a condition that the first protocol release is newer than the second protocol release, the handover command message comprises a one-bit indication that the UE perform a full configuration, wherein the UE is configured according to the first protocol release used by the source BS;
• and
• a second instruction segment for, on a condition that the handover command message comprises the one-bit indication, releasing parameters included in said first configuration and performing a full configuration procedure for handover to the target BS so that the UE is configured according to a second configuration including parameters defined in said second protocol release.