Patent ID: 7860019

Claim:
A method for mobile peer-to-peer information sharing, comprising: a) having a plurality of mobile devices each collect information regarding a plurality of networks that each of said mobile devices uses; b) having each of said mobile devices maintain said information even after it leaves a network for which such information is collected; c) transmitting a request for neighboring-network information regarding neighboring networks from a first of said plurality of mobile devices to a set of first contact peers of said plurality of mobile devices; d) determining if said set of first contact peers is sufficient for obtaining said neighboring-network information regarding neighboring networks; e) if a determination is that said set of first contact peers are insufficient, transmitting a request for neighboring-network information regarding neighboring networks from said first of said plurality of mobile devices to a set of extended peers of said plurality of mobile devices; f) further including having said information regarding a plurality of networks in (a) includes information regarding points of attachment to said plurality of networks; g) further including having said information regarding points of attachment to said plurality of networks including information regarding access points to said networks; and h) further including having said information regarding access points to said networks include information needed to acquire a local IP address from and authenticate with the network, and wherein said access points to said networks include access points to I.E.E.E. 802 networks.