A system and method provide for receiving, at a radio access network (RAN), a radio resource connection (RRC) connection request from user equipment (UE) in a disconnected/idle state; allocating signaling radio bearer (SRB) resources to the UE; sending an initial UE message to a core network; receiving an initial context set-up from the core network; establishing an RRC session with the UE in an RRC connected state; storing the context information; detecting inactivity in the RRC session while the UE is in the RRC connected state; suspending the RRC session and transitioning the UE device from the RRC connected state to an RRC inactive state based on the inactivity; determining a congested/overloaded state in the RAN; receiving an RRC resume request from the UE; and determining, using the stored context information, whether the UE is to be granted prioritized access to the RAN and transitioned to the RRC connected state.