Patent ID: 7143171

Claim:
A method for selecting an access point for a communication device, said method comprising: determining a position of the communication device; determining available access points, each of said access points being associated with an access network, and having a cost associated with use of the access point; obtaining capabilities information related to the available access points and their associated access networks; determining combined requirements of the communication device, said combined requirements including: a profile of operating capabilities of the communication device; quality of service requirements of a service requested by the communication device; connection transport requirements of an application requested by the communication device; and user preferences regarding a desired access point, said user preferences including cost, speed, quality, and security associated with the desired access point; mapping the capabilities information related to the available access points and associated access networks with the position and the combined requirements of the communication device to obtain mapped information; if an available access point and associated access network meet all of the combined requirements of the communication device according to the obtained mapped information, selecting the available access point; and if none of the available access points and associated access networks meet all of the combined requirements of the communication device; determininq mismatched requirements between the combined requirements of the communication device and the capabilities of the available access points and associated access networks; determininq for the mismatched requirements for each available access point, a compromise between the combined requirements of the communication device and the capabilities of the available access point and associated access network; and selecting the available access point that requires the least compromise from the combined requirements of the communication device.