Patent ID: 7920543

Claim:
A communication method, comprising: transmitting a message in a wide spectrum format signal format allowing reception of signals with multiple time delays, wherein the message comprises parameters including at least an iteration count (i), an iteration limit (J), a network iteration limit (N), a destination address, and a content portion, wherein: the iteration count (i) is updated at each occurrence of a relaying of the message, the iteration limit (J) is a maximum number of times that a single node can relay the message, the network iteration limit (N) is a maximum number of relay occurrences in a continuous series of relaying of the message amongst a plurality of nodes; and selectively iteratively relaying the message with an updated iteration count (i), the iteration limit (J), the network iteration limit (N), the destination address, and the content portion, wherein selectively iteratively relaying the message further comprises: (a) receiving the message at a wireless communication device (WCD); (b) processing the message if the destination address matches an address for the WCD, if not, then performing (c); (c) setting a temporary variable (J int ) equal to the iteration limit (J); (d) determining whether the iteration count (i) reached the network iteration limit (N), and if yes, then ignoring the message, if no, then performing (e); (e) determining whether J int has reached zero, if yes, then ignoring the message, if no, then decrementing J int to indicate one additional relaying of the message and updating i to indicate one additional relaying of the message and performing (f); (f) transmitting a message from the WCD that includes the updated i, the J, the N, the destination address, and the content portion; and (g) repeating (d) through (f).