Protocols for communication between paging controllers and paging agents during idle mode paging operations in a wireless network

An apparatus comprising:

• a controller to transmit an IP multicast packet including a paging announcement message to base stations within a paging group of a network when a mobile station (MS) within the paging group needs to be paged;
• and
• a database, in communication with said controller, to store paging related information about said network.

A method comprising:

• receiving a mobile paging response message from a mobile station of interest at a first base station during an idle mode page operation;
• and
• transmitting a paging success message from said first base station, as a multicast IP packet, to a multicast group that includes multiple base stations within a common paging group as said first base station so that said multiple base stations can cease searching for said mobile station of interest.

An article comprising a storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computing platform, operate to:

• receive a signal at a paging controller (PC) in a network that indicates that a first wireless mobile station (MS) in the network needs to be paged;
• and
• transmit a paging announcement message from the PC, as an Internet Protocol (IP) multicast packet, to a multicast group within the network that includes at least some of the base stations of a paging group in the network that includes said first MS.