A new algorithm for retrieving the relative ionospheric satellite-to-satellite total electron content during Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultations is proposed. The algorithm consists of a linear combination of the L1 and L2 excess phase data using precise orbit information of the transmitter and receiver. The combination eliminates the effects of refractive bending and dispersion to first order. Simulations, representative of solar maximum conditions, show that using the traditional combination of the L1 and L2 phases, bending and dispersion may cause a systematic residual error of up to 20 TECU. Using only the L1 excess phase, the corresponding maximum residual error is about 7 TECU. The proposed combination results in a residual error due to bending and dispersion less than 0.1 TECU. Uncertainty in satellite orbit determination, as well as an unmodeled residual related to the geomagnetic field, result in a total systematic error of 1--2 TECU.