Patent ID: 7773513

Claim:
A heterogeneous communication system comprising a plurality of heterogeneous access networks; a core network connecting the heterogeneous access networks; and an admission server being part of the core network and comprising: a network interface for receiving resource usage data from the heterogeneous access networks, the resource usage data comprising resource indications each of which is indicative of an estimated resource usage for a given communication service and a given access point of an access network of the heterogeneous access networks; a resource availability processor for determining and storing current resource availability indications for access points of the heterogeneous access networks; a communication session request processor for receiving at least a first communication session setup request for a user equipment seeking to set up a first communication session using the heterogeneous communication system, the first communication session setup request comprising a communication service indication for the first communication session and an access point identification identifying a first access point of a first of the heterogeneous access networks; a resource requirement processor for determining an estimated resource requirement for the first communication session in response to the resource indications, the communication service indication and the access point identification; and an admission controller for controlling admission of the first communication session in response to a resource availability for the first access point and the estimated resource requirement.