When a UE in an LTE system enters the RRC_IDLE state, only the S5/S8 EPS bearer context is retained, and the S1-U, S1-AP and radio bearers are released. These bearers have to be re-established on per UE basis when the UE returns to RRC_CONNECTED state. A number of UE applications may send small data frequently, which causes the UE to toggle between IDLE and CONNECTED states. This leads to a great deal of signaling overhead as the radio bearer and the S1-U bearer must be frequently re-established as the UE transitions between IDLE to CONNECTED states. Described herein are methods and systems that provide an always-on S1-U bearer to reduce this signaling overhead.