Patent ID: 7307969

Claim:
A method for performing a handoff between different mobile communication networks, comprising: performing a first handoff from a cell region of a first base station of a first communication network to a first sector of a gateway base station when a pilot signal strength from the gateway base station exceeds a threshold value, the first handoff being performed while maintaining a frequency of the first base station; performing an inter-sector hard handoff from the first sector of the gateway base station to a second sector of the gateway base station when a pilot signal strength of the first base station meets a drop threshold value, the hard handoff changing the frequency of the first base station to a frequency of a second base station different from the frequency of the first base station; and performing a second handoff from the second sector of the gateway base station to a cell region of the second base station of a second communication network when a pilot signal strength of the second base station exceeds a threshold value, the second handoff being performed while maintaining the frequency of the second base station, wherein each of the first and second sectors of the gateway base station comprise an overlap area of the first and second base stations.