Systems and methods for intelligent inter-system handoff

摘要

A multi-mode mobile station performs an inter-system handoff between systems, qualified by the presence or absence of a preferred wireless communication network in a roaming lookup table stored and maintained in either mobile station memory or with the network controller. In one embodiment the accurate location of the mobile unit is determined by a global position fix, after which a coverage map is consulted to verify the availability of a preferred network before initiating a background scan. In other embodiments, a learning function creates habit profiles of a subscriber's regular behavior upon which the system intelligently initiates scanning for a preferred network.