Flexible radio access and resource allocation in a universal mobile telephone system

For use in a universal mobile telephone system (UMTS) providing communications with mobile radios, a radio access network (RAN) comprising:

• plural base stations for communicating with mobile radios over an air interface using allocated radio resources, and
• a radio network controller coupled to the plural base stations, and
• first and second service nodes that interface with first and second external networks, respectively, connected to the radio network controller over a RAN interface,
• where in response to a radio access bearer request from one of the first and second service nodes, the RAN is configured to provide a radio access bearer service to the one service node including:
• (1) establishing a logical connection between the one service node through the RAN to the mobile radio and (2) mapping the logical connection to one of plural, different types of channels, based on a UMTS traffic parameter, and where the plural, different channel types include a dedicated channel type and a common channel type,
• wherein the UMTS traffic parameter includes congestion on the common channel, and the RAN is configured to map the logical connection to a dedicated channel when the congestion is high on the common channel.

For use in a universal mobile telephone system (UMTS) providing communications with mobile radios, a radio access network (IRAN) comprising:

• plural base stations for communicating with mobile radios over an air interface using allocated radio resources, and
• a radio network controller coupled to the plural base stations, and
• first and second service nodes that interface with first and second external networks, respectively, connected to the radio network controller over a RAN interface,
• where in response to a radio access bearer request from one of the first and second service nodes, the RAN is configured to provide a radio access bearer service to the one service node including:
• (1) establishing a logical connection between the one service node through the RAN to the mobile radio and (2) mapping the logical connection to one of plural, different types of channels, based on a UMTS traffic parameter, and where the plural, different channel types include a dedicated channel type and a common channel type,
• wherein when a dedicated channel already exists between the RAN and the mobile radio, the RAN is configured to map the logical connection to the already-existing dedicated channel.

For use in a universal mobile telephone system (UMTS) providing communications with mobile radios, a radio access network (RAN) comprising:

• plural base stations for communicating with mobile radios over an air interface using allocated radio resources, and
• a radio network controller coupled to the plural base stations, and
• first and second service nodes that interface with first and second external networks, respectively, connected to the radio network controller over a RAN interface,
• where in response to a radio access bearer request from one of the first and second service nodes, the RAN is configured to provide a radio access bearer service to the one service node including:
• (1) establishing a logical connection between the one service node through the RAN to the mobile radio and (2) mapping the logical connection to one of plural, different types of channels, based on a UMTS traffic parameter, and where the plural, different channel types include a dedicated channel type and a common channel type,
• wherein the RAN is configured to map control signaling associated with the logical connection mapped to a dedicated channel to the same dedicated channel.

For use in a universal mobile telephone system (UMTS) providing communications with mobile radios, a radio access network (RAN) comprising:

• plural base stations for communicating with mobile radios over an air interface using allocated radio resources, and
• a radio network controller coupled to the plural base stations, and
• first and second service nodes that interface with first and second external networks, respectively, connected to the radio network controller over a RAN interface,
• where in response to a radio access bearer request from one of the first and second service nodes, the RAN is configured to provide a radio access bearer service to the one service node including:
• (1) establishing a logical connection between the one service node through the RAN to the mobile radio and (2) mapping the logical connection to one of plural, different types of channels, based on a UMTS traffic parameter including a radio interference condition, and where the plural, different channel types include a dedicated channel type and a common channel type, and
• where the RAN is configured to map the logical connection to a dedicated channel when the radio interference is greater than or equal to a threshold and to a common channel when the radio interference is less than the threshold.

In a universal mobile telephone system that provides multimedia communications with mobile radios including a radio access network (RAN) having plural base stations coupled to a radio network controller for communicating over an air interface with mobile radios using allocated channel resources and a service node coupled to the RAN, a method comprising:

• providing a RAN interface between the RAN and the service node;
• setting up a logical connection between the service node and one of the mobile radios in response to a request to the RAN for a radio access bearer service;
• establishing a transport path for the logical connection through the RAN;
• and
• mapping the logical connection to one of plural different types of radio channels, including a dedicated radio channel type and a common radio channel type, based on a quality of service parameter associated with the logical connection and a traffic condition monitored in the RAN.

In a universal mobile telephone system that provides multimedia communications with mobile radios including a radio access network (RAN) having plural base stations coupled to a radio network controller for communicating over an air interface with mobile radios using allocated channel resources and a service node coupled to the RAN, a method comprising:

• providing a RAN interface between the RAN and the service node;
• setting up a logical connection between the service node and one of the mobile radios in response to a request to the RAN for a radio access bearer service;
• establishing a transport path for the logical connection through the RAN;
• and
• mapping the logical connection to one of plural different types of radio channels, including a dedicated radio channel type and a common radio channel type, based on a quality of service parameter associated with the logical connection and a traffic condition monitored in the RAN,
• detecting a change in the quality of service parameter associated with the logical connection or in the traffic condition in the RAN, and
• switching the type of radio channel associated with the logical connection based on the detected change.