Patent ID: 7499432

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, comprising: transmitting probing data packets from a mobile computing device in a wireless network, the probing data packets transmitted in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 wireless network standard by a wireless network interface in compliance with a wireless Network Driver Interface Specification; calculating a probing data packet collision probability for the wireless network based upon the probing data packets, the calculating comprising calculating a ratio of a number of unacknowledged probing data packets to a total number of probing data packets transmitted, wherein the ratio is calculated by dividing a Network Driver Interface Specification Acknowledge Failure Count statistic by the sum of the Network Driver Interface Specification Acknowledge Failure Count statistic and a Transmitted Fragment Count statistic; calculating a wireless network quality of service measure as a function of the probing data packet collision probability; and initiating a vertical handoff from a first type of wireless network to a second type of wireless network if the calculated wireless network quality of service in the second type of wireless network is greater than observed wireless network quality of service in the first type of wireless network.