Communication device having antenna arrays configured based on open/closed position of housing

A method comprising:

• associating a closed position and an open position of a movable housing positionably coupled to a base housing of a communication device with alternate ones of a first mode of antenna communication and a second mode of antenna communication, the first mode utilizing an antenna array of a first sub-array of at least one first antenna housed within the base housing aligned with a second sub-array of at least one second antenna housed within the movable housing, the second mode independently utilizing the first sub-array and the second sub-array that are not aligned;
• monitoring a housing sensor positioned to detect the closed position and the open position, wherein the second sub-array is positioned to be aligned with the first sub-array to form the antenna array when the movable housing is in the open position and to be unaligned with the first-sub-array when the movable housing is in the closed position;
• in response to identifying the open/closed position that is associated with the first mode, configuring a modem to use each antenna of the first and the second sub-arrays to steer antenna gain of the antenna array;
• and
• in response to identifying the open/closed position that is associated with the second mode, configuring the modem to operate the first and the second sub-arrays to operate independently.

A computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable storage device;
• and
• program code on the computer readable storage device that when executed by a processor associated with a communication device, the program code enables the communication device to provide the functionality of:
• associating a closed position and an open position of a movable housing positionably coupled to a base housing of the communication device with alternate ones of a first mode of antenna communication and a second mode of antenna communication, the first mode utilizing an antenna array of a first sub-array of at least one first antenna housed within the base housing aligned with a second sub-array of at least one second antenna housed within the movable housing, the second mode independently utilizing the first sub-array and the second sub-array that are not aligned;
• monitoring a housing sensor positioned to detect the closed position and the open position, wherein the second sub-array is positioned to be aligned with the first sub-array to form the antenna array when the movable housing is in the open position and to be unaligned with the first-sub-array when the movable housing is in the closed position;
• in response to identifying the open/closed position that is associated with the first mode, configuring a modem to use each antenna of the first and the second sub-arrays to steer antenna beam of the antenna array;
• and
• in response to identifying the open/closed position that is associated with the second mode, configuring the modem to operate the first and the second sub-arrays to operate independently.