Collaborative radio resources allocations to applications of mobile units

1. A mobile station, comprising:

user interface circuitry,

a memory that stores

program modules for operating of the mobile station,

program modules of value-enhancing applications,

an air interface module;

a processor that is coupled to said user interface and to said memory, and

a radio access technology module interposed between said processor and said air interface, where the radio access technology module comprises a plurality of sub-modules, each constructed to interact with a radio access network pursuant to a different set of specifications;

said memory further including

a first module, interacting with said processor, that is instrumental in receiving and storing information in said memory from a wireless access network pertaining to network resources that may be employed by said mobile station, and

a second module, interacting with said processor, that is instrumental in choosing, for each application of said value-enhancing applications that is requested by said user interface circuitry to be activated, based on said information that is stored by said first module, which sub-module of said sub-modules is used for communicating with said radio access network.

2. The mobile station of claim 1 where said second module, which is instrumental in choosing which of said sub-modules is to be used for communicating with said radio access network, is also instrumental in choosing which of said modules is used for communicating with said radio access network for each of said value-enhancing applications that is being executed by said mobile station.

3. The mobile station of claim 1 where at least one of said value-enhancing applications are adapted to interact with a user of said mobile station.

4. The mobile station of claim 3 further comprising one or more of said sensors.

5. The mobile station of claim 1 where at least one of said value-enhancing applications is adapted to interact with sensors.

6. The mobile station of claim 5 where said sensors are sensors that pertain to well-being of an individual.

7. The mobile station of claim 1 where at least one of said value-enhancing applications are adapted to interact with another application that is being executed on said mobile station.

8. The mobile station of claim 7 where said information that pertains to said network's resources includes information that identifies one or more radio access nodes through which said mobile station can be connected to said radio access network, and at least one parameter pertaining to said radio access nodes.

9. The mobile station of claim 7 where said information that pertains to said network's resources also includes identify of resources of said radio access network other than said radio access nodes.

10. The mobile station of claim 1 where said information that pertains to said network's resources includes information that identifies one or more radio access technologies that may be employed by said mobile station.

11. The mobile station of claim 10 where said at least one parameter is a cost measure.

12. The mobile station of claim 1 where said radio access network is the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network and said resources of said radio access network that are other than said radio access nodes are Access Point Name modules of said GPRS network.

13. The mobile station of claim 1 where said Access Point Name modules perform particular functions.

14. The mobile station of claim 1 where said mobile station is substantially continually sensitive to signals received by all of the sub-modules via said air interface.

15. The mobile station of claim 1 where said signals that are continually received by all of the sub-modules via said air interface are responsive to a polling signal from said mobile station.

16. The mobile station claim 1 where at least one of said value-enhancing application programs operates in a manner that is sensitive to said information that is stored by said first module.

17. The mobile station claim 1 where at least one of said value-enhancing application programs presents a user interface that depends on said information that is stored by said first module.

18. The mobile station of claim 1 where said second module is instrumental in choosing a particular sub-module to be used for communicating with said radio access network by requesting a connection that can employ said particular sub-module which, if granted, causes said particular sub-module to be chosen.

19. The mobile station of claim 18 where said information that is stored by said first module arrives periodically.

20. The mobile station of claim 18 where said information that is stored by said first module arrives when there is a significant change in availabilities of resources of said radio access network.

21. The mobile station of claim 18 where said information that is stored is stored by said first module is affected by rules that are stored in said radio access network.

22. The network of claim 21 where said resource tracking module is responsive to a module that provides rules for said processing.

23. The mobile station of claim 1 where said information that is stored by said first module arrives from a radio access network.

24. A network adapted to service the mobile station of claim 1 , including connecting the mobile station to a data network, comprising

a plurality of radio access network nodes, each one of which is constructed to operate in one of a preselected set of radio access technologies,

a resource tracking module for collecting resource availability data from each of said radio access nodes, for processing this data and for returning processed data to said radio access nodes, for communicating to mobile stations, including said mobile station of claim 1 .