Patent ID: 7251483

Claim:
A method of communicating a relative throughput to a user of a device, comprising: measuring at least one parameter associated with Received Signal Strength (RSS) local to an environment of a modem; using out of band signaling from said modem to a network to determine at least one other parameter associated with a primary serving site, a sector and a carrier associated with communications between said modem and said network; sending said at least one parameter, said primary serving site, said sector, and said carrier, from said modem through said network to a server; querying, from said server, a service measurement database; obtaining, from said service measurement database, data relating to a performance of said network, wherein said data relating to the performance of said network contains information associated with at least one of voice traffic/sector/carrier, dropped calls and origination failures; estimating throughput of said network by said server based on said parameters and said data, wherein said throughput indicates relative throughput of said network to said modem; transmitting said estimated throughput to said modem via said network; and displaying said estimated throughput on said modem.