Method for optimizing home location register queries in a wireless communication system

Abstract

When a subscriber record is moved from a first HLR to a second HLR that utilizes a different protocol, the wireless communication system sends two queries for location information for the mobile station, one to the first HLR and one to the second HLR, simultaneously. Two responses are received, one from each of the HLRs. The valid response is recorded in a separate table for future use. The invalid response is discarded. The next time a call comes in for the mobile station, the table is traversed to determine if the HLR has been updated for the mobile station. If so, the location request is sent only to the system in the table. If the table does not include information for the called mobile station, simultaneous queries are sent to the first and second HLRs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.