Patent ID: 7693534

Claim:
A communication device comprising: a network communication interface operable to send and receive session initiation signaling and operable to send and receive bearer traffic; a user interface operable to interact with a user of the device; session-initiation logic operable, in response to a request from the user to initiate a network-based communication session with a group of one or more parties designated by the user, (i) to make a determination whether a client-server synchronization state for the designated group is up to date, (ii) to initiate the requested session by reference to a group-ID corresponding with the designated group, if the determination is that the client-server synchronization state for the designated group is up to date, and (iii) to initiate the requested session by reference to a complete group listing for group, if the determination is that the client-server synchronization state for the designated group is not up to date.