Bearer selection in a mobile communication system having both circuit-switched and packet-switched bearers

A mobile telecommunications system, comprising:

• a circuit-switched network supporting transmission of data via at least one circuit-switched bearer;
• a packet-switched network supporting transmission of data via at least one packet data bearer;
• a first switching node located in one of the circuit-switched network and packet-switched network, said first switching node supporting a first type of bearer and selecting between delivery of data addressed to a mobile station using said first type of bearer and delivery of the data addressed to the mobile station using a second type of bearer, wherein the first type of bearer and the second type of bearer are each selected from the group consisting of circuit-switched bearers and packet data bearers;
• an interconnection between the circuit-switched network and the packet-switched network for rerouting the data addressed to the mobile station when the first switching node selects delivery of the data addressed to the mobile station using the second type of bearer;
• a second switching node located in the other of the circuit-switched network and packet-switched network relative to the first switching node, said second switching node supporting the second type of bearer and serving to select a particular bearer of the second type of bearer and to route the data addressed to the mobile station using said particular bearer when the first switching node selects delivery of the data addressed to the mobile station using the second type of bearer;
• and
• an application server for sending a message including the data addressed to the mobile station, said message further including a parameter identifying the application type for the data addressed to the mobile station, wherein said parameter is used to select the particular bearer for use in delivering the data addressed to the mobile station.

A mobile telecommunications system, comprising:

• a circuit-switched network supporting transmission of data via at least one circuit-switched bearer;
• a packet-switched network supporting transmission of data via at least one packet data bearer;
• a first switching node located in one of the circuit-switched network and packet-switched network, said first switching node supporting a first type of bearer and selecting between delivery of data addressed to a mobile station using said first type of bearer and delivery of the data addressed to the mobile station using a second type of bearer, wherein the first type of bearer and the second type of bearer are each selected from the group consisting of circuit-switched bearers and packet data bearers;
• an interconnection between the circuit-switched network and the packet-switched network for rerouting the data addressed to the mobile station when the first switching node selects delivery of the data addressed to the mobile station using the second type of bearer;
• a second switching node located in the other of the circuit-switched network and packet-switched network relative to the first switching node, said second switching node supporting the second type of bearer and serving to select a particular bearer of the second type of bearer and to route the data addressed to the mobile station using said particular bearer when the first switching node selects delivery of the data addressed to the mobile station using the second type of bearer;
• and
• a home location register associated with the mobile station, said home location register storing information regarding bearer capabilities for the mobile station, wherein the first switching node retrieves said information from the home location register for use in selecting between delivery using the first type of bearer and delivery using the second type of bearer.