Patent ID: 7486963

Claim:
In a cellular telephony system, a method for communicating between at least first and second mobile stations, said mobile stations each comprising a first radio communicator interfacing a cellular network, operating on at least one cellular frequency band for transmitting and receiving calls through said network, said first and second mobile stations each having a second radio communicator operating on a different frequency band and separated from cellular frequency bands, said second radio communicator transmitting and receiving calls through direct communication between at least two of said cellular mobile stations, said mobile stations switching between said first and said second radio communicator for transferring calls between cellular frequency bands and said different frequency band upon a command, wherein the method for communicating comprises: determining via said second radio communicator a mutual carrier wave within said different frequency band available for transmitting and receiving a modulated call between said first and second mobile stations; measuring signal strength parameters for ensuring the signal quality; deciding, based on whether the available frequency has a signal quality sufficient to allow a direct mobile station-to-mobile station radio communication link between the first and second mobile stations, whether to connect the call via the direct mobile station-to-mobile station radio communication link; and establishing a direct connection for the call between said first and second mobile stations, thereby extending call capacity of the cellular network.