System and method for using presence to configure an access point

A wireless telephone having a voice over IP controller for voice communication over a packet network and a cellular network controller for voice communication over a cellular telephone network, the wireless telephone configured to function as a cellular wireless network interface, wherein said wireless telephone is configured to implement a wireless access point function so as to interface a computer equipped with a wireless network interface to a packet network via the cellular telephone network;

• wherein said voice over IP controller is configured to turn on and off said wireless access point function responsive to a presence status of a user.

A telecommunications method, comprising:

• using an 802.11 interface in a cellular telephone to provide a wireless network access point for a computer;
• and
• using said 802.11 interface to search for available 802.11 network access points and turn on and off a wireless network access point function on said cellular telephone responsive to a user presence indication.