Mobile station with intelligent roaming and over-the-air programming features

A process for selecting a preferred system within a communication network when a home system is not available to a mobile station, said communication network comprising a plurality of service areas, each of said service areas being assigned a system identification number, said process comprising:

• scanning a home band to locate a control channel;
• obtaining, when said control channel is located, a system identification number corresponding to a current service area in which said mobile station is located;
• determining whether said home system is available based on said system identification number of said current service area;
• accessing, when said home system is not available, a system access list (SAL) stored in said mobile station, said SAL comprising a plurality of pre-stored entries indicating a system identification number and one or more corresponding frequency bands for each preferred system, said one or more corresponding frequency bands being in a priority order;
• comparing said system identification number of said current service area to said entries of said SAL to determine whether a preferred system exists for said current service area, and determining that a preferred system exists when a system identification number of one of said entries corresponds to said system identification number of said current service area;
• and
• identifying, from said one of said entries of said SAL that corresponds to said system identification number of said current service area, one of said one or more corresponding frequency bands where said mobile station can locate a preferred system for said current service area based on the priority order of said one or more corresponding frequency bands.

An intelligent roaming system for enabling a mobile station to locate a preferred system within a communication network when a home system of said mobile station is not available, said communication network comprising a plurality of service areas, each of said service areas being assigned a system identification number, said intelligent roaming system comprising:

• an accessing system for accessing, when said home system is not available, a system access list (SAL) stored in said mobile station, said SAL containing one or more system identification number and one or more pre-stored frequency bands, corresponding to each said one or more system identification number, where the mobile station should attempt to obtain service, said frequency bands being in a priority order;
• a comparing system for comparing said system identification number of said current service area to said one or more system identification number contained in said SAL to determine if a preferred system exists for said current service area;
• and
• an identifying system for identifying, when a preferred system is determined to exist for said current service area, a frequency band where said mobile station can locate said preferred system for said current service area based on the priority order of said one or more pre-stored frequency bands.

A system for selecting a preferred system within a communication network when a home system is not available to a mobile station, said communication network comprising a plurality of service areas, each of said service areas being assigned a system identification number, said system comprising:

• a scanning system for scanning a home band to locate a control channel;
• an obtaining system for obtaining, when said control channel is located, a system identification number corresponding to a current service area in which said mobile station is located;
• a determining system for determining whether said home system is available based on said system identification number of said current service area;
• an accessing system for accessing, when said home system is not available, a system access list (SAL) stored in said mobile station, said SAL comprising a plurality of pre-stored entries indicating one or more system identification numbers and one or more corresponding frequency bands for each preferred system, said one or more corresponding frequency bands being in a priority order;
• a comparing system for comparing said system identification number of said current service area to said pre-stored entries of one or more system identification numbers contained in said SAL to determine whether a preferred system exists for said current service area;
• and
• an identifying system for identifying, from one of said entries of said SAL that corresponds to said system identification number of said current service area, one of said one or more corresponding frequency bands where said mobile station can locate a preferred system for said current service area based on the priority order of said one or more corresponding frequency bands.