Software download to software definable radio by intermediate communication unit

摘要

A method (200, 300) of downloading software to a software definable radio (105) includes the steps of determining (305) one or more configuration profile change(s), for example a service required by, or a location of, or an available network to, said software definable radio (105) and/or a software definable radio user profile and/or terminal profile. Software is downloaded (320, 340) to an intermediate communication unit, in response to the determination, which then re-configures the software definable radio (105). In particular, or in the alternative, the method may include determining (330) a number of communication links for downloading the software and selecting at least one of the links to be used to download (340) software to the software definable radio (105). A communication unit (120) and a distributed software definable radio re-configuration management mechanism are also described.;In this manner, an improved mechanism for software download is provided, whereby functionality of the software definable radio is placed in a personal radio assistance device. Furthermore, the user is provided with improved options in the download process.