Patent ID: 8370417

Claim:
A method for subscriber registration and affiliation in a peer to peer wide area network, the peer to peer wide area network comprising at least one subscriber device and a plurality of peer devices for providing wireless communications services to the at least one subscriber device, the method comprising: a particular subscriber device communicating different registration and affiliation messages to different peer devices, each registration and affiliation message including at least (i) a subscriber device identifier uniquely identifying the particular subscriber device and (ii) a Subscriber Registration Affiliation Index, wherein the Subscriber Registration Affiliation Index is a number identifying a timing of the registration and affiliation message in which it is contained, relative to other registration and affiliation messages communicated by the particular subscriber device, the particular subscriber device varying a value of the Subscriber Registration Affiliation Index and transmitting another registration and affiliation message including the varied value of the Subscriber Registration Affiliation Index each time the particular subscriber device experiences a personality change, wherein the personality change comprises a change in at least one of a talkgroup affiliation, a frequency of operation, and an affiliation with one out of the plurality of peer devices; at a particular peer device out of the plurality of peer devices for providing wireless communications services: in response to receiving a particular registration and affiliation message from the particular subscriber device, routing a corresponding registration and affiliation update message to the other peer devices in the plurality, the registration and affiliation update message including (i) a subscriber device identifier uniquely identifying the particular subscriber device and (ii) a Peer Registration Affiliation Index equal to the received Subscriber Registration Affiliation Index from the particular registration and affiliation message; comparing the Peer Registration Affiliation Index with one or more other Peer Registration Affiliation Indices associated with the same particular subscriber device received from the other peer devices; and selecting a Peer Registration Affiliation for the particular subscriber device corresponding to a Peer Registration Affiliation Index corresponding to a most recent registration and affiliation message communicated by the particular subscriber device such that the particular peer device maintains most recent subscriber device registration and affiliation information as provided in the most recent registration and affiliation message transmitted by the particular subscriber device to any one of the plurality of peer devices.