Patent ID: 8189524

Claim:
A method for cell selection in a radio access network covering a geographical area divided into a plurality of cells, the method comprising at a mobile communications device: performing frequency scanning of all bands supported by the mobile communications device to obtain a signal strength indicator value for each frequency; sorting the frequencies according to the signal strength by sorting them by their respective signal strength indicator values; starting with the frequency with the highest signal strength indicator value, searching for a cell on the frequency; when a cell is found on the frequency, checking to see if the cell is a barred cell; and conditional on identifying the cell as a barred cell performing a search for a cell on another frequency, if there is one; when the cell is not a barred cell, checking whether the cell is a suitable cell and, when the cell is a suitable cell, attempt to camp on the cell and, when the cell is not a suitable cell, performing a search for a cell on another frequency, if there is one.