Mobile Communication Device Providing Communication Pathway Determination Assistance

Abstract

A system and method in a communication device for providing assistance to a user in determining a communication pathway. A system may comprise processor-executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause a communication device that supports a communication type over multiple networks to access availability information stored in a remote database for determining available networks among the multiple networks for performing the communication type, determine the available networks using the availability information, provide user assistance for determining a selected network among the available networks for the communication type, and perform the communication type using the selected network.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for a communication device comprising:
 determining one or more communication characteristics of a first wireless communication network;   determining one or more communication characteristics of a second wireless communication network;   combining two or more of the communication characteristics to develop an aggregate metric; and   using the aggregate metric, automatically and without human intervention, selecting a communication resource for wireless communication on the first wireless communication network or the second wireless communication network.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining one or more communication characteristics of a first wireless communication network comprises:
 determining data rate, noise level, available bandwidth or failure rate for communication in the first wireless communication network. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein determining one or more communication characteristics of a second wireless communication network comprises:
 determining data rate, noise level, available bandwidth or failure rate for communication in the second wireless communication network. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining one or more communication characteristics of a first wireless communication network comprises:
 determining data rate, noise level, available bandwidth or failure rate for communication in a cellular communication network having a cellular service area surrounding the communication device. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein determining one or more communication characteristics of a second wireless communication network comprises:
 determining data rate, noise level, available bandwidth or failure rate for communication in a WiFi wireless communication network having a WiFi service area that at least partially overlaps the cellular service area. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein combining two or more of the communication characteristics to develop an aggregate metric comprises determining the aggregate metric based on an average or weighted average the two or more of the communication characteristics. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein combining two or more of the communication characteristics to develop an aggregate metric comprises determining the aggregate metric by selecting particular communication characteristics for a particular type of communication over one of a cellular network, a WiFi network, or both. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting a communication resource for wireless communication comprises initiating communication over a cellular network rather than a WiFi network. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein selecting a communication resource comprises, at a mobile communication device in communication with the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network, initiating communication using the aggregate metric. 
     
     
         10 . A communication device comprising:
 two or more communication interface modules, each respective communication interface module configured for communication with a respective wireless communication network of a plurality of wireless communication networks; and   a communication pathway selection assistance module in data communication with the two or more communication interface modules, the communication pathway selection assistance module programmed to determine respective characteristics of each respective wireless communication network and to automatically and without human intervention, based on the determined respective characteristics, selectively initiate communication on one wireless communication network of the plurality of wireless communication networks.   
     
     
         11 . The communication device of  claim 10  wherein the communication device comprises a mobile communication device configured for radio communication with a wireless local area network (WLAN) and with a cellular network. 
     
     
         12 . The communication device of  claim 10  wherein the communication pathway selection assistance module is programmed to begin communicating on a first wireless communication network of the plurality of wireless communication networks based on a determination about available bandwidth on a second wireless communication network of the plurality of wireless communication networks. 
     
     
         13 . The communication device of  claim 12  wherein the communication pathway selection assistance module is programmed to collect information about communication characteristics of the first wireless communication network and the second wireless communication network and to develop an aggregate metric based on the collected information, and wherein the communication pathway selection assistance module is programmed to initiate communication on the one wireless communication network based on the aggregate metric. 
     
     
         14 . The communication device of  claim 13  wherein the communication pathway selection assistance module is programmed to apply one or more weighting factors to the information about communication characteristics and to develop the aggregate metric after applying the one or more weighting factors to the information. 
     
     
         15 . A communication device comprising:
 a cellular interface module configured for radio communication in accordance with a cellular telecommunications protocol;   a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface module configured for radio communication in accordance with a WLAN telecommunications protocol; and   a communication path selection assistance module in communication with the cellular interface module and the WLAN interface module and programmed to, automatically and without human intervention, initiate communication on the cellular interface module with a remote communication device when the initiated communication will not interfere with communication on the WLAN interface module with a remote WLAN communication device.   
     
     
         16 . The communication device of  claim 15  wherein the communication path selection assistance module is programmed to determine WLAN communication characteristics for radio communication according to the WLAN telecommunications protocol and to initiate communication on the cellular interface module using the WLAN communication characteristics. 
     
     
         17 . The communication device of  claim 16  wherein the communication path selection assistance module is programmed to combine the WLAN communication characteristics to form an aggregate metric and to initiate communication on the cellular interface module using the aggregate metric. 
     
     
         18 . The communication device of  claim 17  wherein the communication path selection assistance module is programmed to mathematically weight at least some of the WLAN communication characteristics to form the aggregate metric. 
     
     
         19 . The communication device of  claim 16  wherein the communication path selection assistance module is programmed to determine data rate, noise level, bandwidth availability or error rate among the WLAN communication characteristics. 
     
     
         20 . The communication device of  claim 16  wherein the communication device comprises a mobile communication device operable for radio communication with a cell site of a cellular network and an access point of a WLAN network.