Patent ID: 7970429

Claim:
In a mobile telephone configured for data communications and operative in accordance with a circuit-switched voice service and a packet data service, a method of selecting a cellular base station transceiver system for communication with the mobile telephone comprising the acts of: scanning, via a cellular radio frequency (RF) transceiver, to identify a plurality of cellular base station transceiver systems available for communication including first and second cellular base station transceiver systems; measuring, from the scanning, a first energy-to-interference ratio E c /I o of the first cellular base station transceiver system; measuring, from the scanning, a second energy-to-interference ratio E c /I o of the second cellular base station transceiver system; identifying, at the mobile telephone, that the first cellular base station transceiver system provides a Third Generation (3G) or greater communication service; identifying, at the mobile telephone, that the second cellular base station transceiver system fails to provide the 3G or greater communication service but provides a communication service that is less than the 3G or greater communication service; if, as identified at the mobile telephone, the first energy-to-interference ratio E c /I o is greater than a minimum threshold, even if the first energy-to-interference ratio E c /I o is less than the second energy-to-interference ratio E c /I o : causing the first cellular base station transceiver system to be selected for communication over the second cellular base station transceiver system based at least in part on identifying that the first cellular base station transceiver system provides the 3G or greater communication service and the second cellular base station transceiver system fails to provide the 3G or greater communication service.