Patent ID: 7623486

Claim:
A mobile device capable of communicating with a cellular telephone network over a licensed spectrum, and capable of accessing alternate wireless access networks, the mobile device comprising: a connection subsystem capable of connecting the mobile device to multiple alternate wireless networks, wherein the alternate wireless networks operate on a licensed, semilicensed or unlicensed wireless spectrum, wherein the alternate wireless networks are wireless local area networks, and wherein the connection subsystem comprises: a connection invocation component configured to receive a connection request from a user and initiate a voice connection to an alternate wireless network; a scanning component configured to determine one or more available alternate wireless networks to be connected to the mobile device after the connection invocation component receives a connection request from a user and initiate a voice connection to an alternate wireless network; and a network ordering component configured to order the determined one or more alternate wireless networks based on a measure of signal strength, wherein the network ordering component also measures respective signal strengths for the determined alternate wireless networks; wherein the connection subsystem connects to one of the alternate wireless networks highest in the order of alternate wireless networks; and a quality measurement subsystem, wherein the quality measurement subsystem is configured to initially check a voice connection to a determined alternate wireless network to determine if a quality of the voice connection is above a pre-determined threshold value, and is configured to periodically check the connected network to determine if the quality of the connected network remains above the pre-determined threshold value; wherein the mobile device operates in an alternate wireless network mode when the quality of the voice connection is above the pre-determined threshold value, and wherein the mobile device, in the alternate wireless network mode, communicates with a core network through the one alternate wireless network for the voice connection.