Patent ID: 7177649

Claim:
A system for load balancing for wireless communication networks having a plurality of cells, each cell adapted to serve a plurality of mobile subscriber stations, comprising: means, responsive to receipt of a service request from a mobile subscriber station, for establishing a communication connection for said requesting mobile subscriber station via at least one of said plurality of cells; means for determining when assignment of said mobile subscriber station to a cell results in a predetermined traffic load threshold being exceeded, comprising: means for measuring a traffic load in said cell, means for comparing said measured traffic load to a predetermined traffic load threshold; means, responsive to said predetermined traffic load threshold being exceeded, for selecting at least one of a plurality of mobile subscriber stations served by said cell for reassignment to another cell, comprising: means for identifying at least one of said plurality of mobile subscriber stations served by said cell with the lowest class of service, means for arbitrating among said identified mobile subscriber stations, using additional criteria selected from call management factors, including: duration of call connection, location of mobile subscriber station within the cell, proximity to an adjacent cell, and signal strength in adjacent cells; and means for initiating a handoff of said selected at least one mobile subscriber station to another cell in said wireless communication network.