Patent ID: 8229431

Claim:
Apparatus for facilitating network selection by a mobile node operable on at least one of a plurality of radio access networks, said apparatus comprising: a storage element configured to store at least a first database listing and a second database listing, each of the first database listing and the second database listing being formed of entries that identify radio access networks, each of the entries including an identification of a radio access network and at least one communication service identifier associated with the radio access network, wherein the first database listing is associated with a first preference level, and wherein the second database listing is associated with a second preference level; and a selector configured to receive an indication of when a selected communication service capability is to be performed, identify a communication service identifier associated with said selected communication service capability, and select a selected radio access network for said selected communication service capability by successively accessing, in order of preference level, at least the first database listing and the second database listing to select an entry that has the communication service identifier and that identifies an available radio access network.