Presence updating with preferred service determination

1. A presence management system comprising:

a communication system comprising at least one end device configured to transmit a first update message indicating a first presence status of a user for a first service, and transmit a second update message indicating a second presence status of the user for a second service;

an access control system within an access network that provides the communication system with access to a communication network, the access control system configured to receive the first and second update messages, process the first and second update messages with a capability constraint of the access network to determine a preferred service for the user of the first and second services, and transmit a third update message to a presence system indicating the user and the preferred service for the user wherein the presence system updates a presence indicator for the user to indicate the preferred service.

2. The presence management system of claim 1 wherein the access control system determines the preferred service based on a first service requirement for the first service and a second service requirement for the second service.

3. The presence management system of claim 2 wherein the access control system determines the preferred service based on the first service requirement for the first service and the second service requirement for the second service by processing the first service requirement and the second service requirement with the capability constraint of the access network to determine which of the first service requirement or the second service requirement satisfies the capability constraint of the access network.

4. The presence management system of claim 3 wherein the capability constraint comprises a bandwidth constraint, the first service requirement comprises a first bandwidth requirement, and the second service requirement comprises a second bandwidth requirement.

5. The presence management system of claim 2 wherein the first service comprises a voice over packet service.

6. The presence management system of claim 5 wherein the second service comprises an instant messaging service.

7. The presence management system of claim 6 wherein the communication system comprises a first device and a second device wherein the first device corresponds to the first service and wherein the second device corresponds to the second service.

8. An access control system comprising:

a network card configured to receive a first update message indicating a first presence status of a user for a first service, and receive a second update message indicating a second presence status of the user for a second service;

a processing system coupled to the network card, the processing system configured to process the first and second update messages with a capability constraint of an access network to determine a preferred service for the user of the first and second services, and generate a third update message indicating the user and the preferred service for the user wherein a presence system updates a presence indicator for the user to indicate the preferred service; and

the network card further configured to transmit the third update message to a presence system.

9. The access control system of claim 8 wherein the access control system determines the preferred service based on a first service requirement for the first service and a second service requirement for the second service.

10. The access control system of claim 9 wherein the access control system determines the preferred service based on the first service requirement for the first service and the second service requirement for the second service by processing the first service requirement and the second service requirement with the capability constraint of the access network to determine which of the first service requirement or the second service requirement satisfies the capability constraint of the access network.

11. The access control system of claim 10 wherein the capability constraint comprises a bandwidth constraint, the first service requirement comprises a first bandwidth requirement, and the second service requirement comprises a second bandwidth requirement.

12. The access control system of claim 9 wherein the first service comprises a voice over packet service.

13. The access control system of claim 12 wherein the second service comprises an instant messaging service.

14. A method of operating an access control system comprising:

receiving a first update message indicating a first presence status of a user for a first service;

receiving a second update message indicating a second presence status of the user for a second service;

processing the first and second update messages with a capability constraint of an access network to determine a preferred service for the user of the first and second services;

generating a third update message indicating the user and the preferred service for the user wherein a presence system updates a presence indicator for the user to indicate the preferred service; and

transmitting the third update message to a presence system.

15. The method of claim 14 comprising determining the preferred service based on a first service requirement for the first service and a second service requirement for the second service.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein determining the preferred service based on the first service requirement for the first service and the second service requirement for the second service comprises processing the first service requirement and the second service requirement with the capability constraint of the access network to determine which of the first service requirement or the second service requirement satisfies the capability constraint of the access network.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the capability constraint comprises a bandwidth constraint, the first service requirement comprises a first bandwidth requirement, and the second service requirement comprises a second bandwidth requirement.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the first service comprises a voice over packet service.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the second service comprises an instant messaging service.