GPS base wide area communication system site selection

A communication device operating in a wide area communication system having a plurality of sites, the communication device comprising:

• a first receiver for receiving information from a single active site including a quality factor and coordinate information on the quality and location, respectively, of sites adjacent to the active site;
• a second receiver for establishing the location of the communication device;
• means responsive to first and second receivers for ranking the adjacent sites to produce a ranking list;
• means for measuring signals strength;
• means for sensing when signal strength of the communication signals received from the single active site falls below a desired level;
• means for switching to a new site on top of the ranking list in response to the means for sensing;
• and
• means for communicating with the new site.

In a communication system having a plurality of communication devices and a plurality of communication sites for providing wide area communication coverage for the plurality of communication devices, at least one of the plurality of communication devices comprising:

• a first receiver for receiving radio frequency signals from a single active communication site, the radio frequency signals include coordinate information on the location and a quality factor of adjacent communication sites;
• a second receiver for receiving coordinate information on the location of the communication device;
• means coupled to the first receiver for storing the location and the quality factor of the adjacent communication sites to produce stored information;
• means for ranking the adjacent communication sites using the stored information to produce a ranking list;
• means for measuring signal strength levels;
• means for sensing when signal strength level of radio frequency signals received by the first receiver is below a pre-determined value;
• and
• means for switching to a communication site on top of the ranking list.