Handovers between 5G radio access networks and IPV4 public data network sessions

A method comprising:

• receiving a communication indicating a request by a mobile device to transfer from a communication session with a gNodeB (gNB) associated with a 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) telecommunications network to a communication session with an eNodeB (eNB) associated with a 4th Generation Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) telecommunications network,
• wherein the mobile device is assigned an Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) address to enable communications by the mobile device in a packet data unit (PDU) session within the 5G NR telecommunications network;
• in response to the received communication, transmit a request for context of the mobile device to an accessibility and mobility management function (AMF) associated with the 5G NR telecommunications network;
• configure the eNB using the context of the mobile device;
• and
• notify the mobile device that the PDU session associated with the IPv6 address has an inactive status,
• wherein the notification causes the mobile device to initiate an Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) packet data network (PDN) session with a core network associated with the 4G LTE telecommunications network.

A system comprising:

• at least one hardware processor;
• and
• at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, cause the system to:
• receive a communication indicating a request by user equipment (UE) to transfer from a communication session with a gNodeB (gNB) associated with a 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) telecommunications network to a communication session with an eNodeB (eNB) associated with a 4th Generation Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) telecommunications network,
• wherein the UE is operating in an active data session when the request to transfer is received, and
• wherein the UE is assigned an Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) address to enable communications by the UE in a packet data unit (PDU) session within the 5G NR telecommunications network;
• transmit to a mobility management entity (MME) associated with the 4G LTE telecommunications network, a relocation request associated with the UE that does not include the IPv6 address, the relocation request causing the MME to notify the UE that the IPv6 PDU session is inactive and to facilitate initiation of an IP version 4 (IPv4) packet data network (PDN) session with a core network of the 4G LTE telecommunications network;
• and
• release the IPv6 address assigned to the UE.