Wireless communications network, home location register and method having an improved signal strength arbitration scheme

A wireless communications network, a home location register and a method are provided that have an improved signal strength arbitration scheme which can ensure that a mobile terminal is registered at the most appropriate mobile switching center. In particular, the home location register includes a database coupled to a processor capable of implementing a signal strength arbitration scheme that assigns a provisional quality value to a registration signal that was received from a mobile switching center which failed to include a quality parameter within the registration signal, wherein that mobile switching center may now be considered and possibly registered as the most appropriate mobile switching center to process a wireless call of a mobile terminal that broadcasted a registration access signal to a plurality of mobile switching centers. The most appropriate mobile switching center is often the mobile switching center that has the highest quality value included within or assigned to the registration signal it forwarded to the home location register.