Reduced context or context-less short message transmission for machine-type-communication

A mobile communications network for communicating data to or from one or more communications devices, wherein the mobile communications network is a LTE-compliant network, the network comprising:

• one or more base stations operable to provide a wireless access interface to the one or more communications devices;
• the one or more communications devices operable to communicate packets with the one or more base stations via the wireless access interface;
• one or more mobility managers operable to send and receive signalling packets for controlling user data communications between base stations and a third destination;
• wherein:
• the one or more base stations are operable, upon reception of a signalling message from a communications device and including user data intended for the third destination, to detect that the message is not associated with any established signalling connection between the one or more base stations and the communications device, wherein the signalling message is a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message for the second destination, the second destination is the one or more mobility managers, wherein one of the one or more mobility managers is a mobility management entity (MME):
• and
• the one or more base stations are operable, responsive to said detection, to transmit the user data comprised in the signalling message to the third destination and via the one or more mobility managers.

A method of communicating data to or from one or more communications devices in a mobile communications network, the mobile communications network including one or more base stations operable to provide a wireless access interface to the one or more communications devices, wherein the mobile communications network is a LTE-compliant network the one or more communications devices operable to communicate packets with the one or more base stations via the wireless access interface;

• and one or more mobility managers operable to send and receive signalling packets for controlling user data communications between base stations and a first destination, the method comprising:
• upon reception of a signalling packet from the one or more communications devices and including user data intended for the first destination, the one or more mobility managers detecting that the packet is not associated with any established signalling connection between the one or more mobility managers and the one or more communications devices, wherein the signalling packet is a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message for a second destination, the second destination is the one or more mobility managers, wherein one of the one or more mobility managers is a mobility management entity (MME);
• and
• responsive to said detecting step, the one or more mobility managers transmitting the user data comprised in the signalling packet to the destination.

A method of communicating data to or from one or more communications devices in a mobile communications network, wherein the mobile communications network is a LTE-compliant network, the mobile communications network including one or more base stations operable to provide a wireless access interface to the one or more communications devices;

• the one or more communications devices operable to communicate packets with the one or more base stations via the wireless access interface;
• and one or more mobility managers operable to send and receive signalling packets for controlling user data communications between the one or more communications devices and packet gateways;
• wherein the method comprises:
• upon reception of a signalling message from the one or more communications devices and including user data intended for a destination, the one or more base stations are detecting that the message is not associated with any established signalling connection between the one or more base stations and the one or more communications devices, wherein the signalling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message that comprises a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message and user data whose destination is the one or more mobility managers, wherein one of the one or more mobility managers is a mobility management entity (MME);
• the one or more base stations setting up a temporary base station context for transmitting the user data to the destination and via the one or more mobility managers;
• temporarily setting up the temporary base station context using information comprised in the signalling message, wherein the information in the signalling packet message comprises an indication of an expected number of message exchanges;
• and
• responsive to said detection, the one or more base stations transmitting the user data comprised in the signalling message to the one or more mobility managers.