Patent ID: 8144717

Claim:
A wireless communication network that comprises an association unit and a plurality of stations, each station being configured to start up in a not-associated state and to transmit association request messages in the not-associated state, each station being configured to switch to an associated state upon reception of an association grant in response to one of its association request messages, the association request message and/or the association grant in response thereto establishing an operating route associated with the station for exchanging operating messages with the association unit during subsequent operation, the operating route associated with the station running through a source of the association grant in response to said one of the association request messages and, if the source of the association grant is not the association unit, the operating route between the source of the association grant and the association unit previously established for the source of the association grant in response to association request messages and/or the association grants for intermediate stations, in which network the association unit is configured to transmit association grants as responses to received ones of the association request messages; at least part of the stations is configured to become active to transmit association grants as responses to received ones of the association request messages, but only after switching to the associated state upon an association grant from the association unit or one of the at least part of the stations switched to the associated state directly or indirectly based on an association grant from the association unit.