A method for establishing and controlling a connection of a user equipment (UE) to a radio access network (RAN) included in a heterogeneous wireless network (HWN), including: selecting, via the UE, a RAN from a plurality of heterogeneous RANs detected by the UE based at least in part on a first set of parameters; establishing connection of the UE to the selected RAN; and determining, via a heterogeneous management controller, whether to persist connection of the UE to the selected RAN. Determining whether to persist connection of the UE to the selected RAN includes monitoring a plurality of attributes associated with at least one of the UE, the selected RAN, and the connection between the UE and the selected RAN; and evaluating the plurality of attributes based on a second set of parameters, the second set of parameters being different from the first set of parameters.