Patent ID: 7242938

Claim:
A method for mobile assisted handoff of a communication link between a mobile station and a base station in a digital cellular communications network, from a current base station to one of a number of candidate base stations within said network, said method comprising the steps of: transmitting a signal strength measurements from said mobile station to said current base station; selecting a plurality of most favorable candidate channels from said received signal strength measurement results; transmitting a second measurement order from said current base station to said mobile station, said second measurement order containing a list of said most favorable candidate channels; tuning and synchronizing said mobile station to each of said candidate channels listed in said second measurement order; reading and decoding an identification code for each of said candidate channels, wherein said identification code comprises a digital verification color code in said candidate channels, said step of reading and decoding including: transmitting said identification codes for each of said candidate channels from said mobile station to said current base station; and correlating said received signal strength measurements with said identification codes to identify an optimal candidate base station for effecting said handoff of said communication.