Patent ID: 6954643

Claim:
A method for selecting a base station comprising: receiving transmissions from a plurality of base stations; deriving from the transmissions indications of received signal strength associated with each of the plurality of base stations; ordering a set of candidate base stations in accordance with descending indications of received signal strength; deriving from the transmissions load information associated with each of the plurality of base stations; comparing load information between a likely selected base station and the remaining set of candidate base stations; deriving from the transmissions distance information associated with each of the plurality of base stations; comparing distance information between the likely selected base station and the remaining set of candidate base stations; selecting one of the plurality of base stations as a current base station when the load of and distance to the likely selected base station does not exceed the load of and distance to each of the remaining set of candidate base stations by a first threshold; and selecting an alternative base station when the load of and distance to the likely selected base station exceeds the load of and distance to an alternative base station of the remaining set of candidate base stations by the first threshold.