Patent ID: 8170551

Claim:
A method implemented by a mobile device, the method comprising: connecting to a wireless network in range of the mobile device; performing, in response to the connection to the wireless network, a set-up process to obtain state information describing whether the network supports network-based plus code dialing, where the set-up process includes: calculating a time difference between a current date and a last date a network-based plus code dialing was attempted, setting the state information to indicate the network supports network-based plus code dialing when the time difference indicates greater than a certain amount of time has passed since the last network-based plus code dialing attempt, and setting the state information to store a current International Direct Dial (IDD) prefix, system ID (SID) and mobile country code (MCC) values; receiving a request from a user of the mobile device to place an international call to a specified destination; transmitting, in response to the request from the user and when the state information indicates the network supports network-based plus code dialing, a message to the network to initiate the international call based on a network-based plus code dialing scheme; and transmitting, in response to the request from the user and when the state information indicates the network does not support network-based plus code dialing, a message to the network to initiate the international call using a handset-based plus code dialing scheme.