Indicating transfer in an IMS network

A node for use in a communication network, the node comprising:

• a processor for determining that a communication session is to be transferred from a first endpoint to a second endpoint;
• the processor being further arranged to include in a message an indication of at least one of the endpoints and an explicit communication transfer indicator;
• and
• a transmitter for sending the message towards a node in an IP Multimedia Subsystem network via a gateway node,
• wherein the gateway node is arranged to map an indication of the type of transfer in the message to a parameter usable by the IP Multimedia Subsystem communication network to determine the type of transfer, and
• wherein to map the indication of the type of transfer comprises mapping an alerting type to a blind parameter value and an active type to a consultative parameter value.

A node for use in an IP Multimedia Subsystem communication network, the node comprising:

• a receiver for receiving from a further node a message, the message including an explicit communication transfer indicator indicating that a communication session has been transferred from a first endpoint to a second endpoint and an indication of at least one of the endpoints;
• and
• a processor for determining the presence of the explicit communication transfer indicator and taking further action responsive to the determination,
• wherein the receiver is configured to receive the message from the further node via a gateway node, and
• wherein the gateway node is arranged to map an indication of the type of transfer in the message to a parameter usable by the IP Multimedia Subsystem communication network to determine the type of transfer, and
• wherein to map the indication of the type of transfer comprises mapping an alerting type to a blind parameter value and an active type to a consultative parameter value.

A gateway node for use in an IP Multimedia Subsystem communication network, the gateway node comprising:

• a receiver for receiving a message from a further network, the message comprising an explicit communication transfer indicator indicating that a communication session has been transferred from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, an indication of at least one of the endpoints and an indication of the communication transfer type;
• a processor for mapping the indication of the communication transfer type to a further indication of the communication transfer type usable by the IP Multimedia Subsystem communication network to determine the type of transfer, wherein mapping the indication of the communication transfer type comprises mapping an alerting type to a blind parameter value and an active type to a consultative parameter value;
• and
• the processor being further arranged to generate a Session Initiation Protocol message, the Session Initiation Protocol message comprising an explicit communication transfer indicator indicating that a communication session has been transferred from a first endpoint to a second endpoint, an indication of at least one of the endpoints and the further indication of the communication transfer type.