Patent ID: 8649325

Claim:
A communication system that performs communication between a mobile terminal and a communication apparatus that are onboard a vehicle, wherein the mobile terminal comprises: a first communication unit that communicates with a base station on a mobile communications network, a second communication unit that communicates with communication apparatus, a determining unit that determines whether connection with the communication apparatus has been established by the second communication unit, and a switching unit that suspends power supply to the first communication unit, when the determining unit determines that that connection by the second communication unit is established; the communication apparatus comprises: a third communication unit that communicates with the base station on the mobile communications network, a fourth communication unit that communicates with the mobile terminal and performs data communication with the third communication unit, and a control unit that controls an alternative communication unit that implements a communication function of the mobile terminal that communicates with the base station on the mobile communications network; and the alternative communication unit controlled by the control unit comprises: a first data processing unit that causes the third communication unit to detect the base station on a communications network of the communication apparatus, to receive data from the detected base station, and to transfer the received data to the fourth communication unit; and a second data processing unit that when the data received from the mobile terminal by the fourth communication unit is transferred to the third communication unit, causes the third communication unit to detect the base station on the communication network of the communication apparatus and to transmit the transferred data to the detected base station.