Dynamically-Selectable Multi-Modal Modulation in Wireless Multihop Networks

A node device for use with a self-organizing wireless multihop network containing a plurality of other node devices and at least one gateway device, each node device being within wireless communication range of one or more neighboring node devices located in a corresponding local neighborhood, the node device comprising:

• radio communications circuitry configured to both communicate to an upstream node via short-range (SR) communication mode or a long-range (LR) communication mode, and to communicate to a downstream node in either the SR communication mode or the LR communication mode;
• a controller including a processor and a non-transitory data storage medium containing instructions executable on the processor, wherein the controller is interfaced with the radio communication circuitry;
• a communication mode control module configured to cause the radio communications circuitry to selectively operate in the SR communication mode or the LR communication mode based upon the instructions from the controller, wherein the SR communication mode utilizes a higher data rate than the LR communication mode for any given communication bandwidth;
• the communication mode control module controlling operation of the radio communications circuitry to:
• (a) advertise connectivity link availability for neighboring node devices in both the SR communication mode and the LR communication mode according to a periodicity that is dynamically-variable in response to prevailing circumstances, wherein the prevailing circumstances to which the dynamically-variable scheduling is responsive include a determination of whether any neighboring node device has established a neighbor-associated connection to the node device in a corresponding communication mode, wherein in response to an absence of connections with neighboring node devices in the LR communication mode, the dynamically-variable scheduling of connectivity advertising in the LR communication mode is set to a predefined minimum advertisement repetition rate. and
• (b) selectively initiate a link in response to connectivity availability advertised by at least one neighboring node device;
• and
• the communication mode control module controlling operation of (b) to be selectively performed in one of either the SR communication mode or the LR communication mode, based on selection criteria that include data throughput performance associated with different neighboring node devices with which connectivity is available via a corresponding one of either or both of the SR communication mode and the LR communication mode.