Method for handling service failures

An apparatus, comprising:

• a controller configured to
• receive a first message from a user equipment,
• forward the first message to a serving network element,
• detect that the serving network element is out of service,
• determine a type of the first message by evaluating content of a predefined information element in the first message,
• in response to detecting at the first network element that the serving network element is out of service and to determining that the type of the first message is a re-registration request, send an error message to the user equipment including an indication that the serving network element is out of service, and
• subsequent to the error message being sent to the user equipment, receive a second message having an initial registration type from the user equipment.

A system, comprising:

• a network element;
• a serving network element in communication with the network element;
• and
• user equipment in communication with said network element,
• wherein said network element is configured to
• receive a first message from the user equipment,
• forward the first message to the serving network element,
• detect that the serving network element is out of service,
• determine a type of the first message by evaluating content of a predefined information element in the first message,
• in response to detecting that the serving network element is out of service and to determining that the type of the first message is a re-registration request, send an error message to the user equipment including an indication that the serving network element is out of service, and
• subsequent to sending the error message to the user equipment, receive a second message from the user equipment having an initial registration type.

A method comprising:

• sending from a user equipment a first message having a type of a re-registration request;
• receiving at the user equipment an error message from a network element in a communications network in response to the first message, the error message indication that the network element has determined that a serving network element for the user equipment is out of service;
• and
• in response to the error message, sending from the user equipment a further message having an initial registration type to the network element.

A non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store instructions of a computer program that when executed controls a controller to perform:

• receiving at a first network element in a communications network a first message from a user equipment;
• transmitting the first message from the first network element to a serving network element;
• detecting at the first network element that the serving network element is out of service;
• determining at the first network element a type of the first message by evaluating content of a predefined information element in the first message;
• in response to detecting at the first network element that the serving network element is out of service and to determining that the type of the first message is a re-registration request, sending from the first network element to the user equipment an error message including an indication that the serving network element is out of service;
• and
• subsequent to sending the error message to the user equipment, receiving a second message having an initial registration type from the user equipment.

A non-transitory computer readable medium configured to store instructions of a computer program that when executed controls a controller to perform:

• sending from a user equipment a first message having a type of a re-registration request;
• receiving at the user equipment an error message from a network element in a communications network in response to the first message, the error message indication that the network element has determined that a serving network element for the user equipment is out of service;
• and
• in response to the error message, sending from the user equipment a further message having an initial registration type.