Patent ID: 8213438

Claim:
A communication network comprising a plurality of stations each able to transmit and receive data so that the network transmits a message comprising a plurality of data packets from an originating client station to a destination client station via at least one opportunistically selected intermediate station, the network being operable to: define, at each station, at least one probing channel; select, at each station, a probing channel for the transmission of probe signals to other stations; transmit neighbor gathering probe signals from each station on the selected probing channel, other neighboring stations which receive the neighbor gathering probe signals from a probing station responding directly or indirectly to thereby indicate to other stations their availability as destination or intermediate stations; wherein each station is operable to: transmit on the selected probing channel, from a station with data to send, to other neighboring stations that have indicated to the station with data to send their availability as destination or intermediate stations, a data transport signal comprising a Request to Send message indicating the need to send data to a particular destination station or stations; transmit on the selected probing channel, from one or more neighboring stations that have indicated to the station with data to send their availability as destination or intermediate stations and that receive the Request to Send message, to the station with data to send, a data transport signal comprising a Clear to Send message including information indicating said neighboring station's availability as a destination or intermediate station and its ability to forward the data to the particular destination station or stations as indicated in the Request to Send message; select opportunistically, at the station with data to send, one or more neighboring stations that transmitted a Clear to Send message based on at least one criterion using information in their Clear to Send messages, and transmit at least one data packet to said one or more selected neighboring station or stations; and transmit, from the selected neighboring station receiving the data packet, a Packet Acknowledge message to the station with data to send, to confirm successful reception of the data packet.