Patent ID: 8885514

Claim:
A method implemented in a source node of a wireless communication network that includes a plurality of source nodes, wherein the source node includes a mobile electronic device, the method comprising: receiving, by the source node, feedback information from destination nodes, wherein the feedback information is decoded and buffered by a set of relay nodes in the wireless communication network and, wherein the feedback information includes channel state information; in response to an increase in a size of the wireless communication network, increasing feedback information overhead associated with calculation of a reliability metric, wherein the reliability metric is computed by the destination nodes and is based at least in part on a measured signal strength of a pilot signal sent from the source node to the destination nodes; assigning, by the source node, the source node to a first group of two or more groups of the source nodes based on one or more of the feedback information and network size information that includes a number of the plurality of source nodes of the wireless communication network, wherein the first group of the two or more groups of the source nodes is associated with a portion of the set of relay nodes; sending one or more data packets to the portion of the set of relay nodes associated with the first group of the two or more groups of the source nodes; and receiving a reassignment of the source node to a second group of the two or more groups of the source nodes based on a proportional distribution of a set of source nodes among the two or more groups of the source nodes, wherein the proportional distribution includes one or more of an equal distribution, an approximately equal distribution, and a distribution with a specified tolerance of the set of the source nodes among the two or more groups of the source nodes.