Patent ID: 7706320

Claim:
A method for communicating data between a communications device and an elevated communications point, comprising the steps of: selecting by the elevated communications point one or more communications devices geographically dispersed from the elevated communications point and having a communication indicator value that meets a predetermined threshold to be first layer communications devices; determining whether one or more of the first layer communications devices can facilitate communications with at least one additional communications device that is not a first layer communications device; determining by the elevated communications point a potential routing scheme for communicating data between the elevated communications point, a first layer communications device, and a recipient communications device that is not a first layer communications device; transmitting from the elevated communications point to a first layer communications device according to the potential routing scheme data intended for receipt by the recipient communications device that is thereafter retransmitted by the first layer communications device; and amending the potential routing scheme by a communications device contained in the potential routing scheme upon receipt of the data to optimize a communications path to the recipient communications device, wherein the elevated communications point further comprises at least one cost setting, where signals below the at least one cost setting are rejected at the elevated communications point and where signals above the at least one cost setting are accepted at the elevated communications point, the at least one cost setting being set intermittently based on changing propagation and interference patterns, and wherein a predetermined number of the one or more communications devices is maintained by the elevated communications point at a percentile of the one or more communication devices having the highest signal strength values.