Patent ID: 7996047

Claim:
In a cellular telephone having a keypad, a method of alerting a user to possible loss of a call due to low signal strength comprising: a. measuring incoming signal strength as the power between the cellular telephone and one or more nearby cell sites; b. calculating a percentage change between measured incoming signal strength during a second interval and measured incoming signal strength in a first interval preceding the second interval; c. comparing the calculated percentage change in measured incoming signal strength to a pre-determined percentage; d. providing an advisory alert to said user that indicates the possible loss of a call due to low signal strength if the calculated percentage change represents a reduction in signal strength of at least the pre-determined percentage from the value of the measured incoming signal strength during the first time interval; and e. selecting recipients of the advisory alert from a group consisting of the user, a party participating in the call with the user, and both the user and the party.