Patent ID: 9198069
Filing Date: 2015-11-24
Classification: H04B,H04W

Abstract:
1. An apparatus, comprising: circuitry configured to: in which the lower priority neighbor cell search is for maintaining wireless connectivity by finding an alternate cell for cellular voice call coverage in case the signal strength of the service cell deteriorates beyond the determined signal strength, and the higher priority neighbor cell search is for accessing enhanced wireless service that provides higher data rates than cellular voice call coverage that is currently provided by the serving cell; wherein: the serving cell operates according to a first radio access technology (RAT) which is WCDMA; the higher priority neighbor cell search comprises a search in a third RAT which is E-UTRAN or in a frequency layer higher in priority than a serving layer of the serving cell; the lower priority neighbor cell search comprises a search in a second RAT which is GERAN or in a frequency layer having a priority that is lower than or equal to priority of the serving layer of the serving cell; and the measurement occasion is utilized for the lower priority neighbor cell search when the determined signal strength is below a threshold.