Latency-free intercellular transfer management for a multiple-attachment mobile terminal

A method for selecting an access point for the multiple attachment of a mobile terminal to access points of a plurality of access points of at least one cellular network, the method being implemented by one of the access points of the plurality, called source access point, and comprising:

• receiving a message, called measurement report, from the terminal and containing measurements relating to radio signals transmitted by access points of the plurality,
• selecting an access point for the terminal from among the plurality, called target access point, at least on the basis of the received measurement report,
• transmitting to the terminal an access point change command, called handover command, to hand over from the source access point to the target access point, and
• receiving a handover rejection message from the terminal.

An attachment device for multiple attachment of a mobile terminal to access points of a plurality of access points of at least one cellular network, the terminal being able to be attached simultaneously to a given number of different access points, called maximum number of attachments, the device comprising:

• a receiver,
• a transmitter,
• a processor, and
• a memory coupled to the processor with instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor configure the device to:
• receive an access point change command, called handover command, from one access point of the plurality, called source access point,
• determine a number of handovers in progress,
• put the received handover command on hold when a maximum number of handovers in progress is reached, and
• execute the received handover command when the maximum number of handovers in progress is not reached.

A selection device for selecting an access point for the multiple attachment of a mobile terminal to access points of a plurality of access points of at least one cellular network, the device comprising:

• a receiver,
• a transmitter,
• a processor, and
• a memory coupled to the processor with instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor configure the selection device to:
• receive a message, called measurement report, from the terminal and containing measurements relating to radio signals transmitted by access points of the plurality,
• select an access point for the terminal from among the plurality, called target access point, at least on the basis of the received measurement report,
• transmit to the terminal an access point change command, called handover command, to hand over from a source access point to the target access point, and
• receive a handover rejection message from the terminal.