Patent ID: 7743121

Claim:
In a cognitive radio operating in a Peer-to-Peer (P2) group, a method of establishing an operational policy, wherein policy data are arranged in a hierarchy of layers, with higher layer of the hierarchy specifying fewer policy parameters than lower layers which specify increasing numbers of communication policy parameters, comprising: determining that a policy change is to be made to a new operational policy; determining a policy depth in terms of layers from a number of members of the P2P group; requesting a layer of operational policy information from an authority; receiving the layer of operational policy information from the authority; correlating the layer with a specified operational policy; if the layer correlates with the specified operational policy with at least a threshold level of correlation, then conducting a focused interrogation to obtain only the additional parameter or parameters needed to adjust the specified operational policy to the new operational policy; if the layer does not correlate with the specified operational policy with at least the threshold level of correlation, then requesting a policy layer that specifies more parameters than the first policy layer in order to define the new operational policy; and implementing the new operational policy.