| abstract |
A mobile communication system (101) having a layered architecture (401) communicates user and signaling data (1105) among components of the communication system in the form of information elements which are encapsulated within packets (1005) which may be passed across one or more system interfaces (1401). The mobile communication system comprises mobile user stations (102), base stations (104), and base station controllers (105) and operates as a transparent data pipeline between application end users, such as a telephone service (126), connected at base station controllers (105) and mobile user stations (102). In a particular embodiment, the interface between the base station (104) and the user stations (102) is a TDMA interface, and signaling traffic between the base station (104) and each of the user stations (102) is conducted in either a fast control traffic mode or a slow control traffic mode. In the fast control traffic mode, signaling messages are exchanged between the base station (104) and a user station (102) in a plurality of time slots (302) within a timespan of a single time frame (301); in the slow control traffic mode, signaling messages are exchanged between the base station (104) and a user station (102) in no more than a single time slot (302) within a timespan of a single time frame (301). |