Patent ID: 7583625

Claim:
A wireless network communicatively coupled to a packet switched backbone network, the wireless network comprising: an access point having communication interface circuitry that communicatively couples with the packet switched backbone network, access point processing circuitry, and access point transceiver circuitry that manages communication by transmitting at a plurality of power levels; the access point processing circuitry controls communication flow between the communication interface circuitry and the access point transceiver circuitry, the access point processing circuitry selects a first power level of the plurality of power levels for periodic transmissions by the access point transceiver circuitry; a first client device having first client processing circuitry and first client transceiver circuitry; a second client device having second client processing circuitry and second client transceiver circuitry; the first client transceiver circuitry and the second client transceiver circuitry both communicatively coupling with the packet switched backbone network via the access point transceiver circuitry, the access point processing circuitry, and the communication interface circuitry; the first client processing circuitry evaluates transmissions from both the access point transceiver circuitry and the second client transceiver circuitry, and transmits to the access point transceiver via the first client transceiver circuitry a first plurality of characteristics relating to the evaluation by the first client processing circuitry; the second client processing circuitry evaluates transmissions from both the access point transceiver circuitry and the first client transceiver circuitry, and transmits to the access point transceiver via the second client transceiver circuitry a second plurality of characteristics relating to the evaluation by the second client processing circuitry; and the access point processing circuitry assesses both the first plurality of characteristics and the second plurality of characteristics and, based on the assessment, selects both a second power level of the plurality of power levels for transmissions by the access point transceiver circuitry to the first client transceiver and a third power level of the plurality of power levels for transmissions by the access point transceiver circuitry to the second client transceiver, and the first power level is greater that the second power level, while the second power level is greater than the third power level.