A wireless communication device and method

A wireless communication device which automatically and seamlessly switches to an alternate, available system when it is unable to complete a call origination attempt, without requiring the user to take any affirmative actions to select the alternate system or re-initiate a call origination. The wireless communication device decreases the percentage of call failures by providing a hold-over of pending call origination attempts until service is finally acquired. In the case of either exceeding the maximum number of access sequences (reverse link limited) or failure to acquire the forward link of the preferred communication system (forward link limited), the user is not required to re-initiate the call origination, thus turning a potential call failure into a success.