Method and system for registering an in-vehicle cellular phone

1. A method of registering a cellular phone in a mobile vehicle while in a quiescent mode comprising:

disabling power-down registration when the quiescent mode is entered to maintain a current registration;

determining whether timer-based registration is enabled when in the quiescent mode;

determining whether one of a counter or an interval timer has reached a predetermined threshold based on the timer-based registration determination; and

registering the cellular phone during a next wake state when the predetermined threshold has been reached.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the counter is incremented based on a time slot associated with a wireless telecommunications protocol.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the interval timer is incremented based on a system clock.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising: resetting one of the counter or the interval timer subsequent to the cellular-phone registration.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

receiving a timer-based registration message from a wireless service provider.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether registration is current; and

registering the phone based on the registration determination.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: disabling power-up registration when the registration is current.

8. A computer usable medium including a program for registering a cellular phone in a mobile vehicle while in a quiescent mode comprising:

computer program code to disable power-down registration when the quiescent mode is entered to maintain a current registration;

computer program code to determine whether timer-based registration is enabled when in the quiescent mode;

computer program code to determine whether one of a counter or an interval timer has reached a predetermined threshold based on the timer-based registration determination; and

computer program code to register the cellular phone during the next wake state when the predetermined threshold has been reached.

9. The computer usable medium of claim 8 further comprising:

computer program code to reset one of the counter or the interval timer subsequent to the cellular-phone registration.

10. The computer usable medium of claim 8 further comprising: computer program code to receive a timer-based registration message from a wireless service provider.

11. The computer usable medium of claim 8 further comprising:

computer program code to determine whether registration is current; and

computer program code to register the phone based on the registration determination.

12. The computer usable medium of claim 11 further comprising: computer program code to disable power-up registration when the registration is current.

13. A system for registering a cellular phone in a mobile vehicle while in a quiescent mode comprising:

means for disabling power-down registration when the quiescent mode is entered to maintain a current registration;

means for determining whether one of a counter or an interval timer has reached a predetermined threshold based on the timer-based registration determination; and

means for registering the cellular phone during the next wake state when the predetermined threshold has been reached.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising: means for resetting one of the counter or the interval timer subsequent to the cellular-phone registration.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

means for receiving a timer-based registration message from a wireless service provider.

16. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

means for determining whether registration is current; and

means for registering the phone based on the registration determination.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising:

means for disabling power-up registration when the registration is current.