Method and apparatus for providing real-time packetized voice and data services over a wireless communication network

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As illustrated in FIG.
1, a wireless communication network 10 generally includes a plurality of mobile stations (also called subscriber units or user equipment) 12a-12d, a plurality of base stations (also called base station transceivers (BTSs) or Node B).
14a-14c, a base station controller (BSC) (also called radio network controller or packet control function 16), a mobile station controller (MSC) or switch 24, a packet data serving node (PDSN) or internetworking function (IWF) 20, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 22 (typically a telephone company), and an Internet Protocol (IP) network 18 (typically the Internet).
For purposes of simplicity, four mobile stations 12a-12d, three base stations 14a-14c, one BSC 16, one MSC 18, and one PDSN 20 are shown.
It would be understood by those skilled in the art that there could be any number of mobile stations 12, base stations 14, BSCs 16, MSCs 18, and PDSNs 20.
In one embodiment the wireless communication network 10 is a packet data services network.
The mobile stations 12a-12d may be any of a number of different types of wireless communication device such as a portable phone, a cellular telephone that is connected to a laptop computer running IP-based, Web-browser applications, a cellular telephone with associated hands-free car kits, a personal data assistant (PDA) running IP-based, Web-browser applications, a wireless communication module incorporated into a portable computer, or a fixed location communication module such as might be found in a wireless local loop or meter reading system.
In the most general embodiment, mobile stations may be any type of wireless communication unit.
The mobile stations 12a-12d may advantageously be configured to perform one or more wireless packet data protocols such as described in, for example, the EIA/TIA/IS-707 standard.
In a particular embodiment of the IS 707 standard, the mobile stations 12a-12d generate IP packets destined for the IP network 24 and encapsulate the IP packets into frames using a point-to-point protocol (PPP)