Patent ID: 7760649

Claim:
A method of opportunistic data communications comprising the steps of: providing a data packet to a first node for transmission therefrom, the first node being identified by a first address; providing a plurality of second nodes; each second node being identified by a second address; providing an indication of the destination address of the data packet; determining at least an indication of a cost of data delivery to each second node within a current subset of the plurality of second nodes; determining opportunistically for the data packet whether to at least one of broadcast and unicast from the first node; wherein, upon determining to broadcast from the first node; broadcasting the data packet upon at least a wireless channel; and upon determining to unicast from the first node; determining opportunistically at least one second node of the current subset of the plurality of second nodes to transmit the data packet to based upon a predetermined cost decision; and transmitting the data packet from the first node to the at least one second node upon at least a wireless channel.