WO2001047288A2

WO2001047288A2 - Prevention of signaling traffic overload within a communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2001047288A2
Application number: PCT/SE2000/002356
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anders LUNDSTRÖM; Anders Hoff
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 1999-12-20
Filing date: 2000-11-28
Publication date: 2001-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 2002-06-20
Also published as: AU2239701A; WO2001047288A3

Abstract

A system and method is provided whereby signaling traffic over a reverse control channel (90) is estimated and one or more selected types of registration messaging, such as power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations or periodic registrations, are disabled in response to the estimated signaling traffic exceeding a first threshold. The one or more selected types of registration messaging may be subsequently enabled after a certain amount of time has expired or in response to the estimated signaling traffic over the reverse control channel (90) falling below a second threshold. The process of disabling and enabling the selected types of registration messaging may be repeated in cycles until the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel (90) reaches an acceptable level.

Description

PREVENTION OF SIGNALING TRAFFIC OVERLOAD WITHIN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to the field of communication systems, and in particular, by way of example only, to prevention of signaling traffic overload within a cellular communication system employing a location management scheme. Description of Related Art Modern cellular communication systems, such as cellular communication systems based on IS- 136 specifications, typically employ a location management scheme that enables the cellular network to quickly locate a target mobile station in response to an incoming call. In a zone-based location management scheme, for example, the cellular coverage area is divided into non-overlapping Location Areas, where each Location Area may include one or more individual cells. When a mobile station powers up or enters a new Location Area, the mobile station initiates a location update request or registration over a reverse control channel associated with the serving base station. The cellular network then accesses the Home Location Register associated with the mobile station and updates the stored indication of the mobile station' s current Location Area. When the cellular network receives an incoming call addressed to a target mobile station, the cellular network broadcasts a paging message over forward control channels associated with base stations within the target mobile station's last updated Location Area. The target mobile station responds by transmitting an acknowledgment message over the serving base station's reverse control channel, thereby enabling the cellular network to identify the base station currently serving the target mobile station and to route the incoming call accordingly.

One significant problem associated with cellular communication systems employing a location management scheme is that registration messaging increases the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel. Because registration requests compete for reverse control channel resources with other mobile station originating and terminating activities (e.g., call establishment), the signaling capacity of the reverse control channel can become overloaded, especially during peak traffic periods or periods with an otherwise unusually high signaling load. In some instances, the reverse control channel associated with a serving base station can become congested to such an extent that the base station is unable to serve any call requests which would otherwise be possible, even call requests attempting to utilize the resources that are still available (e.g., traffic channels). Because congestion of the reverse control channel may result in missed calls and unsuccessful call setups, the efficient management of the reverse control channel is critical for providing reliable mobile service to mobile stations traveling within the serving coverage area.

Existing approaches have attempted to alleviate the above-described problems through cell planning or reverse control channel capacity dimensioning. These approaches, however, have proven inadequate to efficiently and effectively manage signaling traffic overload, especially during peak traffic periods. Cell planning, for example, attempts to configure Location Areas to be sufficiently large so as to reduce the number of registrations initiated by mobile stations crossing Location Area boundaries, but sufficiently small so as to reduce the number of base stations required to broadcast paging messages in response to an incoming call. Although an efficient cell plan enables cellular service providers to balance the trade-off between paging and registration messaging, cell planning fails to directly address the problem of congestion of the reverse control channel, and further fails to address the situation in which a cell plan becomes inefficient due to an unanticipated signaling traffic load which may be caused by a big event (e.g., concert, football game, etc.) or a traffic jam. Reverse control channel capacity dimensioning, on the other hand, can only efficiently allocate bandwidth to the reverse control channel to handle normal or sustainable signaling traffic. If additional bandwidth is allocated to the reverse control channel to also handle peak traffic loads, the additional bandwidth will be unutilized the majority of the time and will be unavailable for other uses (e.g., traffic channels), resulting in an inefficient use of the limited frequency spectrum allocated to cellular services.

Therefore, in light of the deficiencies of existing approaches, there is a need for a mechanism that efficiently prevents signaling traffic overload of a reverse control channel implemented within a cellular communication system employing a location management scheme.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The deficiencies of the prior art are overcome by the method and system of the present invention. For example, as heretofore unrecognized, it would be beneficial to estimate signaling traffic load over a reverse control channel and disable one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to the estimated signaling traffic load exceeding a first predetermined threshold. The one or more selected types of registration messaging may be subsequently enabled after a predetermined amount of time has expired or in response to the estimated signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel falling below a second predetermined threshold. The process of disabling and enabling the one or more selected types of registration messaging may be repeated in cycles until the estimated signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel falls below the first predetermined threshold. In a first aspect of the present invention, the signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel is estimated by measuring average utilization of the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval. Alternatively, signaling traffic load is estimated by measuring the number of collisions that occur on the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval. Another alternative is to estimate the signaling traffic load corresponding only to mobile station registrations (e.g., registration load) by, for example, measuring the number of registrations that occur during a predefined time interval. If the signaling traffic load, or alternatively the signaling traffic load corresponding only to the registration load, exceeds the first predetermined threshold, the one or more selected types of registration messaging are temporarily disabled in order to free signaling capacity of the reverse control channel for other uses, such as call establishment.

In a second aspect of the present invention, the one or more selected types of registration messaging are enabled or disabled by broadcasting a registration control message to mobile stations within a geographic area, such as a sector or cell. The registration control message may include parameters that selectively enable or disable, for example, power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and/or periodic registrations. The registration control message may include a Registration Parameters message broadcast over the Fast Broadcast Control Channel in accordance with IS- 136 specifications.

The technical advantages of the present invention include, but are not limited to, the following exemplary technical advantages. It should be understood that particular embodiments may not involve any, much less all, of the following exemplary technical advantages.

An important technical advantage of the present invention is that it enables the cellular network to prioritize offered traffic by alleviating congestion over the reverse control channel.

Another important technical advantage of the present invention is that it provides a mechanism to reserve a minimum amount of traffic handling capacity during peak periods without requiring reconfiguration of the cellular network.

Yet another important technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to improve the quality and reliability of cellular services by reducing the likelihood of missed calls and unsuccessful call setups caused by congestion of the reverse control channel.

Yet another important technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to advantageously allocate limited reverse control channel resources to mobile stations performing originating call and terminating call activities.

Yet still another important technical advantage of the present invention is the ability to flexibly handle peak traffic loads without wasting limited bandwidth resources.

The above-described and other features of the present invention are explained in detail hereinafter with reference to the illustrative examples shown in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the described embodiments are provided for purposes of illustration and understanding and that numerous equivalent embodiments are contemplated herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the method and system of the present invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 illustrates a portion of an exemplary cellular system in which the principles of the present invention may be advantageously practiced;

FIGURE 2 illustrates logical control channels of the exemplary cellular system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 illustrates parameters of an exemplary registration control message in accordance with another aspect of the present invention; FIGURE 4 illustrates an exemplary method in flowchart form by which the principles of the present invention may be advantageously practiced; and

FIGURE 5 illustrates an alternative exemplary method in flowchart form by which the principles of the present invention may be advantageously practiced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular circuits, logic modules (implemented in, for example, software, hardware, firmware, some combination thereof, etc.), techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known methods, devices, logical code (e.g., hardware, software, firmware, etc.), etc. are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary detail. A preferred embodiment of the present invention and its advantages are best understood by referring to FIGURES 1-5 of the drawings, like numerals being used for like and corresponding parts of the various drawings. Referring to FIGURE 1, a portion of an exemplary cellular system in which the principles of the present invention may be advantageously practiced is depicted generally at 1. The exemplary cellular system includes a base station 40 for interfacing with mobile stations 10, 20 that are active within the base station's assigned cell 80. The base station 40 also communicates with an associated mobile switching center 50 which acts as an interface between the base station 40 and backbone networks, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 60, an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) 70, and other nodes within the cellular network 75. In one embodiment, the base station 40 may be implemented with an omnidirectional antenna which enables the base station 40 to communication with and control mobile stations 10, 20 within the entire cell 80. Alternatively, the base station may be implemented with three directional antennas which divide the cell 80 into three sector cells as illustrated in FIGURE 1 by dashed lines. The directional antennas enable the base station 40 to selectively communicate with and control mobile stations within a single sector of the cell 80.

The exemplary cellular system depicted in FIGURE 1 also includes a reverse (uplink) control channel 90 and a forward (downlink) control channel 95 which enable signaling information to be communicated between the base station 40 and mobile stations 10, 20 over an air interface. In practice, the forward control channel 95 is typically implemented as a point-to-multipoint communication channel that enables the base station 40 to broadcast control information and other signaling information, such as paging or acknowledgment messages, to all mobile stations 10, 20 located within the base station's assigned cell 80. The reverse control channel 90, on the other hand, is typically implemented as a point-to-point communication channel that enables mobile stations 10, 20 to communicate signaling information, such as call origination requests, acknowledgment messages and registration requests, to the serving base station 40.

In a digital cellular communication system, the reverse control channel 90 and the forward control channel 95 are typically implemented as logical control channels within a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) frame structure. Referring to FIGURE 2, logical control channels of the exemplary cellular system in accordance with one aspect of the present invention is illustrated. These exemplary logical control channels essentially correspond to the logical control channels of the Digital Control Channel (DCCH) specified by IS- 136 standards. It should be emphasized that although this aspect of the present invention is described with reference to IS- 136 specifications, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the principles of the present invention are not limited to cellular systems based on IS-136 specifications. Rather, the principles of the present invention are equally applicable to cellular systems based on, for example, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the Personal Digital Cellular System (PDC) and other analog or digital cellular communication systems that employ a location management scheme. Therefore, the exemplary logical control channels described below are for purposes of illustration, and not limitation.

Referring again to FIGURE 2, the DCCH is divided into a reverse (uplink) control channel 90 that communicates information from a mobile station to the base station, and a forward (downlink) control channel 95 that communicates information from the base station to mobile stations. As illustrated in FIGURE 2, the forward control channel 95 is divided into a number of logical channels, depending on the type of information to be communicated. The SMS/paging/access channel (SPACH), for example, includes a Paging Channel (PCH) for carrying system paging messages, an

Access Response Channel (ARCH) for providing system responses to mobile station requests and administration information, and a Short Message Service Channel (SMSCH) for carrying short message service (SMS) messages and over-the-air activation and programming. The Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH), on the other hand, includes a Fast Broadcast Channel (F-BCCH) for broadcasting information that mobile stations need immediately, such as the system ID and registration information; an Extended Broadcast Control Channel (E-BCCH) for providing information that is less time critical, such as neighbor cell lists; and a SMS Broadcast Control Channel (S-BCCH) for providing broadcast messaging services. Finally, the Shared Channel Feedback (SCF) channel carries information on the downlink that is used to provide a collision-prevention mechanism on the uplink.

On the uplink of the DCCH, the reverse control channel 90 consists of a single Random Access Channel (RACH) that includes one or more time slots for enabling mobile stations 10, 20 to gain access to the cellular network and communicate signaling information to the serving base station 40. Because the reverse control channel 90 is implemented as a random access channel in an IS- 136 embodiment

(random access channels are common in other cellular systems also), all mobile stations 10, 20 within any given cell 80 must compete for reverse control channel resources. If a sufficiently large number of mobile stations attempt to access the reverse control channel 90 during the same time interval, the reverse control channel 90 may become congested to such an extent that the base station 40 will be unable to receive any signaling traffic (or only a significantly reduced amount of signaling traffic) over the reverse control channel 90 due to an increased number of collisions. Furthermore, mobile stations 10, 20 attempting to gain access to the cellular network or respond to a paging message will be unable to access the reverse control channel 90, or will be forced to wait a significant period of time for an available time slot.

This situation can become especially problematic in situations involving time critical tasks, such as transmitting an acknowledgment in response to a paging message. Because congestion of the reverse control channel 90 may result in missed calls and unsuccessful call setups, the efficient management of the reverse control channel 90 is critical for providing reliable mobile service to mobile stations traveling within the serving coverage area.

One objective of the present invention is to reduce the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 by disabling one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to an estimated signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel 90 exceeding a first predetermined threshold during a predetermined time interval (e.g., one minute). The first predetermined threshold may be determined using the normal or sustainable signaling traffic of the reverse control channel 90 plus a first margin (e.g, normal signaling traffic plus twenty percent). For example, assuming the normal signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel 90 is ten percent of reverse control channel resources, the one or more selected types of registration messaging may be selectively disabled if the estimated signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel 90 exceeds thirty percent of reverse control channel resources during the predetermined time interval. For example, the disabling of the one or more selected types of registration messaging may be triggered in response to an estimated utilization of the reverse control channel 90 exceeding the first predetermined threshold for a predetermined duration (which may be less than or equal to the predetermined time interval) or in response to an average utilization of the reverse control channel 90 exceeding the first predetermined threshold where the average utilization is estimated over the predetermined time interval. This aspect of the present invention recognizes that by temporarily disabling signaling traffic associated with certain types of mobile station registrations, additional reverse control channel resources will be available for other signaling traffic, such as call originating and terminating activities.

The one or more selected types of registration messaging may be subsequently enabled after a certain amount of time has expired (e.g., between thirty seconds and five minutes) or in response to the estimated signaling traffic load over the reverse control channel 90 falling below a second predetermined threshold (e.g. normal signaling traffic of the reverse control channel 90 plus a second margin) where the second predetermined threshold may be less than, greater than or equal to the first predetermined threshold. For example, the enabling of the one or more selected types of registration messaging may be triggered in response to the estimated utilization of the reverse control channel 90 falling below ten percent of reverse control channel resources for a predetermined duration (e.g., one minute) or in response to the average utilization of the reverse control channel 90 falling below ten percent of reverse control channel resources where the average utilization is estimated over a second predetermined time interval. In practice, it may be preferable to combine the two techniques described above so that if the estimated signaling traffic load falls below the second predetermined threshold, the one or more selected types of registration messaging are not re-enabled until after a certain amount of time has expired, thus avoiding oscillations. The process of disabling and enabling the one or more selected types of registration messaging may be repeated in cycles until the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 falls below the first predetermined threshold or until the signaling traffic otherwise reaches an acceptable level.

In operation, the base station 40 illustrated in FIGURE 1 measures the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90. Because the base stations commonly implemented within modern cellular communication systems include circuitry and software modules for monitoring and measuring radio resources, there exist several alternative techniques for measuring the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90. One such alternative is to measure the average utilization of the reverse control channel 90 over a predefined time interval (e.g., between thirty seconds and one minute). Alternatively, the signaling traffic may be measured by measuring the number of collisions that occur on the reverse control channel 90 over a predefined time interval. Another alternative is to only measure the signaling traffic corresponding to mobile station registrations (e.g., registration load) by, for example, measuring the number of registration requests that occur on the reverse control channel 90 over a predefined time interval. If the measured signaling traffic, or alternatively the measured signaling traffic corresponding only to the registration load, exceeds the relevant first predetermined threshold, the base station 40 broadcasts a registration control message over the forward control channel 95 informing mobile stations 10, 20 within the base station's assigned cell 80 that one or more selected types of registration messaging are not permitted at that time. The registration control message includes parameters that selectively enable or disable, for example, power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and periodic registrations. The registration control message may be broadcast to all mobile stations 10, 20 within the base station's assigned cell 80 or to only those mobile stations within a particular sector of the base station's assigned cell 80 via the forward control channel 95 illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the parameters of an exemplary registration control message that may be advantageously used in accordance with this aspect of the present invention. These parameters correspond to the fields of an IS- 136 Registration Parameters message. It should be emphasized that although this aspect of the present invention is described with reference to a Registration Parameters message, persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the principles of the present invention are not limited to Registration Parameters messages in accordance with IS- 136 specifications. Rather, the principles of the present invention are equally applicable to other registration control messages that may be implemented in, for example, the GSM, the PDC or other analog or digital cellular communication systems. Therefore, the Registration Parameters message is described for the purpose of illustration and not limitation. Furthermore, any control message (either currently existing or specifically adapted or created for use with the principles of the present invention) that may convey the requisite information in accordance with the present invention is contemplated and embraced herein. As illustrated in FIGURE 3, the Registration Parameters message includes a number of fields that selectively control the types of registration messaging that mobile stations may perform. The REGH field, for example, enables or disables registrations by a mobile station located within the mobile station's Home Location Area. The REGR field enables or disables registrations by roaming mobile stations that enter a new Location Area. The PUREG and PDREG fields enable or disable power up registrations and power down registrations, respectively. The Reg Period field is an optional field that sets the time interval between periodic registrations and can be used to enable or disable periodic registrations. The Registration Parameters message is typically broadcast to all mobile stations 10, 20 within the serving base station's assigned cell 80 over the F-BCCH of the forward control channel 95 in accordance with IS- 136 specifications.

By broadcasting the registration control message in response to the measured signaling traffic, or alternatively the signaling traffic corresponding to the measured registration load, over the reverse control channel 90 exceeding a corresponding threshold level, the base station 40 can selectively eliminate signaling traffic caused by certain types of mobile station registration messaging, thereby freeing reverse channel resources for other uses, such as call establishment. For example, by broadcasting a registration control message that disables roaming registrations, a mobile station 30 of FIGURE 1 that crosses a Location Area boundary 100 and enters the base station's assigned cell 80 will be informed that roaming registrations (e.g., location update requests) are not permitted at that time. If the measured signaling traffic over the reverse channel 90 falls below a second threshold level, or alternatively after a certain amount of time has expired, the base station 40 broadcasts a second registration control message over the forward control channel 95 informing the roaming mobile station 30, as well as other mobile stations 10, 20 located within the base station's assigned cell 80, that the reverse control channel 90 may now be used for roaming registration requests. The roaming mobile station 30 may then attempt to access the reverse control channel 90 to perform a registration request.

A similar procedure may be used for power up/down registrations and periodic registrations or all or any combination of the various types of registration messaging. For example, a registration control message may be used to disable roaming registrations and periodic registrations, but enable power up registrations and power down registrations. Another example may involve disabling or enabling all types of registration messaging using one or more registration control messages.

It should be noted, however, that changing registration parameters using the registration control message forces all mobile stations 10, 20 to re-read the information broadcast over the forward control channel 95, thereby consuming precious battery power of these mobile stations 10, 20. Therefore, the mechanism for issuing registration control messages should be carefully implemented so as to avoid broadcasting an excessive number of registration control messages. If the base station 40 experiences signaling traffic overload of the reverse control channel 90 on a regular or continuous basis, broadcasting registration control messages can alleviate the short term problems associated with congestion of the reverse control channel 90. However, the cellular communication provider may need to reconfigure the cell plan in order to provide a long term solution. Referring to FIGURE 4, an exemplary method in flow chart form by which the principles of the present invention may be advantageously practiced is depicted generally at 4. At step 410, the base station 40 measures the signaling traffic (or alternatively, the signaling traffic only corresponding to the registration load) over the reverse control channel 90 using one or a combination of the above-described techniques. If the measured signaling traffic, or alternatively the signaling traffic corresponding to the measured registration load, does not exceed a first predetermined threshold at step 420, control passes back to step 410 where the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 is again measured. Otherwise, the base station 40 broadcasts a registration control message over the forward control channel 95 at step 430 that disables one or more selected types of registration messaging, such as power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and/or periodic registrations. At step 440, the base station 40 waits a predetermined amount of time (e.g., between thirty seconds and five minutes), and then broadcasts a second registration control message over the forward control channel 95 at step 450 that enables the one or more selected types of registration messaging. Control then passes back to step 410 where the signaling traffic (or registration load) over the reverse control channel 90 is again measured. Consequently, the process of disabling and enabling the one or more selected types of registration messaging may be repeated in cycles until the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 falls below the predetermined threshold. Referring to FIGURE 5, an alternative embodiment of the exemplary method by which the principles of the present invention may be advantageously practiced is illustrated generally at 5. This alternative exemplary method approximately corresponds to the exemplary method of FIGURE 4, except the threshold of step 420 is a first threshold and the delay step 440 is replaced with the steps of measuring the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 (step 435) and determining whether the measured signaling traffic is greater than a second predetermined threshold (step 445). Under this alternative, control passes to step 450 if the signaling traffic measured at step 435 is determined to be less than the second predetermined threshold at step 445. Otherwise, the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 is measured again at step 435 to determine whether the measured signaling traffic falls below the second predetermined threshold at step 445. The steps of measuring 435 and determining 445 may be repeated until the measured signaling traffic falls below the second predetermined threshold. It should be noted that a delay may be optionally added in the forward path from step 435 to step 445 or in the feedback path from step 445 to step 435.

If the signaling traffic (or alternatively the signaling traffic corresponding only to the registration load) measured at step 435 is determined to be less than the second predetermined threshold at step 445, the base station 40 broadcasts a second registration control message over the forward control channel 95 at step 450 that enables the one or more selected types of registration messaging, and control passes back to step 410. The process of disabling and enabling the one or more selected types of registration messaging may also be repeated in cycles until the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 falls below the first predetermined threshold. It should be noted that the first and second thresholds can be equal so that the enabling message of step 450 is not broadcast until the signaling traffic level falls below the originally exceeded threshold.

In another alternative embodiment, exceeding various thresholds can cause a series of registration control messages to be broadcast which selectively disable selected types of registration messaging in accordance with a predetermined order. For example, the various types of registration messaging may be prioritized in order of importance. One such prioritized order (in decreasing order of importance) may be power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and periodic registrations. When a first threshold is exceeded, the least important type of registration messaging (e.g., periodic registration) may be disabled. When a second (or subsequent) threshold is exceeded, the next least important (or subsequent) type of registration messaging (e.g, roaming registration) may be disabled, and so forth.

As the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel 90 decreases, the prioritized types of registration messaging may be enabled in the reverse order in which they were disabled (e.g., from the most important to the least important) as the various thresholds are crossed. Although preferred embodiment(s) of the method and system of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanying Drawings and described in the foregoing Detailed Description, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth and defined by the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS :

1. A method for preventing signaling traffic overload within a communication system, the method comprising the steps of: estimating signaling traffic over a reverse control channel; and disabling one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to the estimated signaling traffic exceeding a first predetermined threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of estimating the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel comprises measuring average utilization of the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of estimating the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel comprises measuring a number of collisions that occur on the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of estimating signaling traffic over the reverse control channel comprises measuring only the signaling traffic corresponding to a registration load.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of measuring the registration load comprises measuring a number of registration messages that occur over the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of disabling is performed in response to the estimated signaling traffic over the reverse control channel exceeding the first predetermined threshold for a predetermined duration.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more selected types of registration messaging comprise at least one of power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and periodic registrations.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of disabling comprises broadcasting a registration control message to mobile stations within a geographic area over a forward control channel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the registration control message includes parameters that selectively enable or disable at least one of power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and periodic registrations.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the registration control message comprises a Registration Parameters message in accordance with International

Standard 136 (IS-136) specifications.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the geographic area comprises a sector of a cell.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of enabling the one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to a detected condition.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the detected condition comprises expiration of a predetermined amount of time since the disabling of the one or more selected types of registration messaging.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the detected condition comprises the estimated signaling traffic over the reverse control channel falling below a second predetermined threshold.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of disabling and the step of enabling are repeated in cycles until the estimated signaling traffic over the reverse control channel falls below the first predetermined threshold.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of enabling comprises broadcasting a registration control message over a forward control channel.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of disabling comprises the steps of: disabling a first portion of the one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to the estimated signaling traffic exceeding the first threshold; and disabling a second portion of the one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to the estimated signaling traffic exceeding a second predetermined threshold.

18. A system for preventing signaling traffic overload within a cellular system, comprising: a mobile station configured to receive broadcast messages over a forward control channel; and a base station configured to estimate signaling traffic over a reverse control channel and to broadcast a registration control message over the forward control channel in response to the estimated signaling traffic exceeding a first predetermined threshold, the registration control message including at least one parameter that selectively disables one or more types of registration messaging.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the base station estimates the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel by measuring average utilization of the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the base station estimates the signaling traffic over the reverse control channel by measuring a number of collisions that occur on the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the signaling traffic corresponds to a registration load, and wherein the base station is configured to broadcast the registration control message in response to the estimated registration load exceeding the first predetermined threshold.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the base station is configured to estimate the registration load by measuring a number of registration messages that occur on the reverse control channel over a predefined time interval.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the base station is configured to disable the one or more selected types of registration messaging in response to the estimated signaling traffic over the reverse control channel exceeding the first predetermined threshold for a predetermined duration.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more types of registration messaging comprise at least one of power up registrations, power down registrations, roaming registrations and periodic registrations.

25. The system of claim 18, wherein the registration control message comprises a Registration Parameters message in accordance with International Standard 136 (IS- 136) specifications.

26. The system of claim 18, wherein the base station is further configured to selectively enable the one or more types of registration messaging in response to a detected condition.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the detected condition comprises expiration of a predetermined amount of time since the selective disabling of the one or more types of registration messaging.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the detected condition comprises the estimated signaling traffic over the reverse control channel falling below a second predetermined threshold.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold are the same.

30. A method for preventing signaling traffic overload within a communication system, the method comprising the steps of: measuring average utilization of a reverse control channel during a predefined time interval; selectively disabling one or more types of registration messaging, in response to the measured average utilization exceeding a predetermined threshold, by broadcasting a first registration control message to mobile stations within a geographic area; selectively enabling the one or more types of registration messaging in response to expiration of a predetermined amount of time since the selective disabling of the one or more types of registration messaging, the one or more types of registration messaging selectively enabled by broadcasting a second registration control message to the mobile station within the geographic area; and repeatedly performing the step of selectively disabling and the step of selectively enabling until the measured average utilization of the reverse control channel falls below the predetermined threshold.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of measuring the average utilization of the reverse control channel comprises measuring a number of collisions that occur on the reverse control channel over the predefined time interval.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of measuring the average utilization of the reverse control channel comprises measuring only the average utilization of the reverse control channel corresponding to a registration load.