Method for improved idle-mode signaling in wireless communication networks

In a wireless communication system serving a plurality of mobile terminals wherein ones of the plurality of mobile terminals periodically signals to the wireless system a status change as the mobile terminal moves from a first serving area to a second serving area and further wherein ones of the mobile terminal periodically receive paging signals from the wireless system indicative of one or more messages available for transmission to the mobile terminal, a method for managing loading at one or more nodes of the wireless system comprising:

• determining a break-even point for a given one of the plurality of mobile terminals, the break-even point representing a balancing of a first loading effect based on status change signaling from the given mobile and a second loading effect based on paging signaling from the wireless system to the given mobile terminal, and being determined as a function of a timer value at the mobile terminal and arrival rate for messages arriving at the wireless system for transmission to the given mobile terminal;
• and causing the given mobile terminal to establish a registration with both the first and the second serving area when a message arrival rate for the given mobile is less than a break-even point message arrival rate.