A mobile communications network communicating data to/from communications devices, the network including base stations operable to provide a wireless access interface to communications devices; communications devices operable to communicate packets with the base stations via the wireless access interface; packet gateways operable to transmit user data packets received via the base stations from/to the communications devices; and mobility managers operable to send/receive signalling packets for controlling user data communications between communications devices and packet gateways. The mobility managers can, upon receiving a signalling packet from a communications device and including user data intended for a destination, detect the packet is not associated with any established signalling connection between the mobility managers and the communication device. The mobility managers can, responsive to the detection, transmit the user data in the signalling packet to the destination. Accordingly a short message may be sent in a reduced context or context-less manner.