Patent ID: 7525936

Claim:
Apparatus for a radio communication system having a mobile node operable at least to communicate packet data pursuant to a packet communication session by way of a selected network portion of a network part of the radio communication system, the network part having a plurality of network portions, said apparatus for facilitating selection by said mobile node of which of the plurality of network portions packet data is communicated by the mobile node pursuant to the communication session, said apparatus comprising: a storage element embodied at the mobile node, said storage element selectably containing a listing of a preferred set of network portions associated with the mobile node together with packet data communication capabilities of individual ones of the network portions, if any, forming the preferred set, the packet data communication capabilities contained in the listing being updateable by the mobile node in response to unsuccessful attempts made by the mobile node to access packet data connectivity of the network portions listed in said listing, that the mobile node is authorized to attempt to access; and a selector embodied at the mobile node and coupled to said storage element, said selector for selecting the selected network portion by way of which the packet data is communicated, selection made by said selector of one of the network portions, if any, identified in the listing contained at said storage element that exhibits packet data connectivity, and if none of the network portions, identified in the listing exhibit packet data connectivity, selection made by said selector of another network portion not identified in the listing which exhibits packet data connectivity, in order to form a selected network portion by way of which the packet data is communicated from the mobile node.