Patent ID: 8599767

Claim:
A method of scanning a plurality of communication channels and identifying one or more communication channels having a desired attribute, the method comprising: a) performing a first scan of a first set of two or more of the plurality of communication channels using a first scan mode, the first scan mode determining an indication of whether each of the first set of communication channels is associated with a network operating, in a first communication mode; b) assigning one or more attributes to at least one of the plurality of communication channels depending on the first scan, the one or more attributes selected from a set of potential attributes including the desired attribute, at least one of the one or more attributes conveying partial information indicative of a likelihood that a corresponding communication channel of the plurality of communication channels is usable for communication in a second communication mode different from the first communication mode; c) determining, based on the assigned attributes, whether to perform a second scan of a second set of one or more of the plurality of communication channels using a second scan mode, the second scan mode determining an indication of whether each of the second set of communication channels is associated with a network operating in the second communication mode; d) performing, if required, said second scan, the second scan configured based at least in part on the assigned attributes; e) assigning one or more additional attributes to at least one of the plurality of communication channels depending on the second scan, the one or more additional attributes selected from the set of potential attributes including the desired attribute; and f) identifying at least one of said one or more of the plurality of communication channels having the desired attribute if one or more of the plurality of communication channels are assigned the desired attribute based on the first scan or the second scan, wherein each of the first communication mode and the second communication mode correspond to different, incompatible wireless communication standards, wherein determining whether to perform the second scan includes determining how many of the plurality of communication channels are assigned the desired attribute based on the first scan, and wherein the second scan is performed if none of the plurality of communication channels are assigned the desired attribute based on the first scan.