Patent ID: 7581030

Claim:
For use in a system comprising at least a cellular network and a wireless local area network coupled to an Internet, wherein a mobile unit communicates via the Internet at a transport layer or above with a roam management server system to facilitate a roam operation, a method comprising: receiving at the roam management server system an indication that the mobile unit is in radio contact range of at least one wireless access point of the wireless local area network; determining whether a new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior to an existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network, in accordance with one or more user-specified criteria; and sending from the roam management server system to at least one of the mobile unit and the wireless local area network an indication to switch from the existing connection between the mobile unit and the cellular network to the new connection between the mobile unit and the wireless local area network via the wireless access point in the event that it is determined that the connection to the wireless local area network via the wireless access point is or would be superior, to thereby facilitate the roam operation.