Patent ID: 8027680

Claim:
A method for providing access by a user device of a network service comprising: sending an initiation signal from the user device to a session initialization proxy server; initiating an application on the user device that requires the network service; sending quality of service parameters for the user device and the application from the session initialization proxy server to a policy function server; sending a resource allocation request from the policy function server to a first access gateway; in response to the resource allocation request, providing the network service to the user device in accordance with the quality of service parameters via the first access gateway; monitoring, by the user device, the first access gateway to determine if the first access gateway can continue to provide the network service in accordance with the quality of service parameters comprising an indicator of a media type for a session associated with the network service; if the first access gateway can no longer provide the network service in accordance with the quality of service parameters, the user device determining a second access gateway that can provide the network service according to the quality of service parameters; providing the network service to the user device via a link between the first access gateway and the second access gateway; establishing communication between the second access gateway and the user device; automatically providing the network service to the user device via the second access gateway when communication between the user device and the second access gateway has been established; and closing the link between the first access gateway and the second access gateway.