A communication system is provided in which a client device can
communicate with a server via any one of plural communication networks,
such as a WWAN, a WLAN, a wired LAN, a personal area network (e.g.,
Bluetooth), and any other networking architecture. More specifically, the
communication client comprises a connection manager that is adapted to
determine availability of each the plural communication networks to
communicate data between the client and the server, select one of the
communication networks from the available ones of the plural
communication networks in accordance with predetermined preferences, and
establish a connection with the selected one of the communication
networks. The client may further comprise a client application. The
connection manager provides a notification message to the client
application upon establishment of the communication link. The client
application then communicates data to and from the server via the
selected one of the communication networks. In an alternative embodiment
of the invention, the communication system further includes an
intelligent queuing system, comprising a client-side queue on the
communication client and a server-side queue on the server. The
connection manager is further adapted to determine cost associated with
communicating the data on available ones of the plural communication
networks and provide that information to the client-side queue. The
client-side queue determines whether to communicate the data via the
selected one of the communication networks based in part on the
determined cost.