A method and system for selecting scanning rates in a multi-mode communication device is disclosed herein. The method can include the step of—at a multi-mode communication device—measuring at least one parameter associated with an interaction between a first network and the multi-mode communication device. The method can further include the step of—in response to measuring the parameter—selecting a scanning rate of the multi-mode communication device for a second, different network that interacts with the multi-mode communication device. In the method, the first network and the second network can have independent synchronization procedures.