Patent ID: 8249628

Claim:
A method, operable on a mobile communication device, of provisioning data service for use by the mobile communication device, the method comprising: identifying an accessible wireless network; determining whether a packet data service is available via the wireless network; if the packet data service is unavailable via the wireless network, sending an alternate data registration message to a relay node via an Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD) network, the alternate data registration message indicating that the packet data service is currently unavailable, and configuring the mobile communication device for alternate data service via the USSD network and the wireless network; if the packet data service becomes available via the wireless network while the mobile communication device is configured for alternate data service, sending a packet data registration message to the relay node via the packet data service and configuring the mobile communication device for packet data service; and modifying data transfer characteristics depending on whether communication is occurring via packet data service or via alternate data service.