Patent ID: 7787402

Claim:
A mobile communication system comprising: a first communication system configured to communicate with at least one host device; and a second communication system configured to communicate with a plurality of stationary access points and the first communication system, wherein the mobile communication system is configured to authenticate the second communication system with a first stationary access point of the plurality of stationary access points by authenticating the second communication system with an authentication server, and wherein the mobile communication system is further configured to authenticate the second communication system with a second stationary access point of the plurality of stationary access points without reauthenticating the second communication system with the authentication server; wherein the second communication system is configured to couple to a communication network through a different respective one of the plurality of stationary access points as the mobile communication system moves; and wherein the second communication system is configured to select a current one of the plurality of station access points through which to couple to the communication network based, at least in part, on a signal strength of a communication signal between the second communication system and the plurality of stationary access points.