Method and apparatus for controlling inter-PLMN handover to CSG cell

A method by a base station in a communication system, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a base station of a first public land mobile network (PLMN), a measurement report from a terminal;
• transmitting, to a mobility management entity (MME), a closed subscriber group (CSG) cell identity (ID) related to a target cell of a second PLMN;
• and
• transmitting, to the terminal, a handover command related to the target cell,
• wherein a CSG ID list for an equivalent PLMN list is transmitted from a home subscriber server (HSS) to the MME, and
• wherein a CSG membership of the terminal in the target cell is validated based on the CSG cell ID of the target cell and the CSG ID list for the equivalent PLMN list.

A terminal in a communication system, the terminal comprising:

• a transceiver configured to transmit and receive at least one signal;
• and
• a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to:
• transmit, to a base station of a first public land mobile network (PLMN), a measurement report, and
• receive, from the base station, a handover command related to a target cell of a second PLMN,
• wherein a closed subscriber group (CSG) identity (ID) list for an equivalent PLMN list is transmitted from a home subscriber server (HSS) to the MME,
• wherein a CSG cell ID related to the target cell is transmitted from the base station to a mobility management entity (MME), and
• wherein a CSG membership of the terminal in the target cell is validated by the MME based on the CSG cell ID of the target cell and the CSG ID list for the equivalent PLMN list.

A base station in a communication system, the base station comprising:

• a transceiver configured to transmit and receive at least one signal;
• and
• a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to:
• receive, by a base station of a first public land mobile network (PLMN), a measurement report from a terminal,
• transmit, to a mobility management entity (MME), a closed subscriber group (CSG) cell identity (ID) related to a target cell of a second PLMN, and
• transmit, to the terminal, a handover command related to the target cell,
• wherein a CSG ID list for an equivalent PLMN list is transmitted from a home subscriber server (HSS) to the MME, and
• wherein a CSG membership of the terminal in the target cell is validated based on the CSG cell ID of the target cell and the CSG ID list for the equivalent PLMN list.

A method by a mobility management entity (MME) in a communication system, the method comprising:

• transmitting, to a home subscriber server (HSS), a request message;
• receiving, from the HSS, a closed subscriber group (CSG) identity (ID) list for an equivalent PLMN list in response to the request message;
• receiving, from a base station of a first public land mobile network (PLMN), a CSG cell ID related to a target cell of a second PLMN for a terminal;
• validating a CSG membership of the terminal in the target cell based on the CSG cell ID of the target cell and the CSG ID list for the equivalent PLMN list;
• and
• transmitting, to the base station, a handover command related to the target cell based on a result of the validation.

A mobility management entity (MME) in a communication system, the MME comprising:

• a transceiver configured to transmit and receive at least one signal;
• and
• a controller coupled with the transceiver and configured to:
• transmit, to a home subscriber server (HSS), a request message,
• receive, from the HSS, a closed subscriber group (CSG) identity (ID) list for an equivalent PLMN list in response to the request message,
• receive, from a base station of a first public land mobile network (PLMN), a CSG cell ID related to a target cell of a second PLMN for a terminal,
• validate a CSG membership of the terminal in the target cell based on the CSG cell ID of the target cell and the CSG ID list for the equivalent PLMN list, and
• transmit, to the base station, a handover command related to the target cell based on a result of the validation.