Method and apparatus for controlling access technology selection

1. A method, comprising:

selecting at least one of a plurality of available access networks for use with an application invoked at a terminal according to preferences associated with the application, the preferences comprising one or more of network service provider preferences, subscriber preferences, subscriber subscription preferences, and application content provider preferences; and

in response to a trigger condition, performing at least one of a plurality of additional actions at the terminal.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selecting is constrained by an Application Policy received from a network service provider.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said selecting is performed in response to a user invoking an application at the terminal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said additional actions comprise searching for an additional access network, searching for an alternative access network, selecting for use with the wireless application one or both of an additional or alternative access network, and adapting one or more operating parameters associated with a additional or alternative access network.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said trigger condition comprises an indication of network congestion above a threshold level.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said trigger condition comprises a change in access provider policy, subscriber preference, subscriber subscription preference or application preference.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein subscriber preferences are entered and stored on the terminal.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein subscriber subscription preferences are obtained at a Home Subscriber System (HSS) and Subscription Profile Repository (SPR).

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of selecting is performed for each of a plurality of applications invoked at the terminal.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of available access networks comprises at least two of WiFi, GPRS, UMTS, WiMax, EV-DO, LTE and wired based access networks.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein multiple access networks are selected to support a single wireless application, the method further comprising:

adapting bearer handling components of the terminal to map packets associated with the single wireless application to each of the multiple selected access networks.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein a bearer handling control function is included within one or more of the application invoked at the terminal, network adapters, network device drivers and the terminal operating system.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein a single access network is selected to support a single wireless application, the method further comprising:

adapting bearer handling components of the terminal to wrap packets for transmission via a tunnel supported by the single access network.

14. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor and a memory communicatively connected to the memory, the processor configured to:

select at least one of a plurality of available access networks for use with an application invoked at a terminal according to preferences associated with the application, the preferences comprising one or more of network service provider preferences, subscriber preferences, subscriber subscription preferences and application content provider preferences; and

in response to a trigger condition, perform at least one of a plurality of additional actions at the terminal.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to constrain the selection based on an Application Policy received from a network service provider.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to perform the selection in response to a user invoking an application at the terminal.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the additional actions comprise searching for an additional access network, searching for an alternative access network, selecting for use with the wireless application one or both of an additional or alternative access network, and adapting one or more operating parameters associated with a additional or alternative access network.

18. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the trigger condition comprises an indication of network congestion above a threshold level.

19. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the trigger condition comprises a change in access provider policy, subscriber preference, subscriber subscription preference, or application preference.

20. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein subscriber preferences are entered and stored on the terminal.

21. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein subscriber subscription preferences are obtained at a Home Subscriber System (HSS) and Subscription Profile Repository (SPR).

22. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to perform selections for each of a plurality of applications invoked at the terminal.

23. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of available access networks comprises at least two of WiFi, GPRS, UMTS, WiMax, EV-DO, LTE and wired based access networks.

24. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein multiple access networks are selected to support a single wireless application, wherein the processor is configured to:

adapt bearer handling components of the terminal to map packets associated with the single wireless application to each of the multiple selected access networks.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein a bearer handling control function is included within one or more of the application invoked at the terminal, network adapters, network device drivers and the terminal operating system.

26. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein a single access network is selected to support a single wireless application, wherein the processor is configured to:

adapt bearer handling components of the terminal to wrap packets for transmission via a tunnel supported by the single access network.