| 摘要 |
The invention provides a method and apparatus for allowing a multi-mode mobile communication unit (102) to switch efficiently between communication systems. The method includes creating and adaptively updating a footprint database (210) relating the coverage of the multiple communication systems. The footprint database (210) comprises a plurality of system lists (220). The system lists (220) each include a plurality of cell entries (222) linking cells of a particular system to cells in other systems. Each of the plurality of cell entries is identified by a cell frequency (342) and a color code (344). The method further comprises the step of installing and dynamically updating the footprint database (210) on the mobile unit (102). Accordingly, an apparatus of the invention includes a mobile unit (102) having the aforementioned database installed thereon. The mobile unit (102) additionally includes processing tools (212) for accessing a user selected system list upon receiving a user request and for locating the selected system by cycling through cell entries in the system lists. |
