Patent ID: 7515568

Claim:
A method of communicating in and around a localized wireless coverage area, comprising: defining a neighborhood cell by transmitting a localized wireless coverage area-identifying signal from a neighborhood cell transmitter; establishing communication between a source mobile subscriber unit and a destination unit; if the establishing, of communication between a source mobile subscriber unit and a destination unit is achieved through wide area network coverage when the source mobile subscriber unit is outside of the neighborhood cell, receiving the localized wireless coverage area identifying signal and determining whether the source mobile subscriber unit is a subscriber on the neighborhood cell and if the source mobile subscriber unit is a subscriber, switching over to ad hoc wireless network coverage when, the source mobile subscriber unit enters the neighborhood cell to maintain the communication between the source mobile subscriber unit and the destination unit; and if the establishing of communication between a source mobile subscriber unit and a destination unit is achieved through the ad hoc wireless network coverage when the source mobile subscriber unit is within the neighborhood cell, switching over to the wide area wireless network coverage when the source mobile subscriber mobile unit exits the neighborhood cell to maintain the communication between the source mobile subscriber unit and the destination unit providing one or more last hop nodes within the neighborhood cell each comprised of a mobile subscriber unit within the neighborhood cell to regulate data packet traffic between the source mobile subscriber unit and the destination unit during the communication between the source mobile subscriber unit and the destination unit; and at all subscriber units within the neighborhood cell, including the source mobile subscriber unit and the one or more last hop nodes, periodically probing a first set of mobile subscriber units in proximity thereto to collect ad hoc wireless network coverage information.