Patent ID: 7917145

Claim:
A roaming wireless terminal node for use in a communication network having at least one bridging node that transmits at predetermined intervals a first message indicating the presence of a pending message, the roaming wireless terminal comprising: at least one module that operates to, at least: cause the roaming wireless terminal node to operate in a sleep mode; cause the roaming wireless terminal node to wake, at a time calculated by the at least one module, from the sleep mode to receive a first message; determine from a received first message whether there is a pending message for the terminal node; cause the roaming wireless terminal to request the pending message if it is determined from the first message that there is a pending message for the terminal node; store and maintain at least a first list of access points that are in communication range of the roaming wireless terminal, where at least one access point of the first list of access points is associated with an age counter; and store and maintain at least a second list of access points that are not in communication range of the roaming wireless terminal, where the at least one module comprises hardware.