System for automated management of spontaneous node migration in a distributed fixed wireless network

A method of managing meters that spontaneously migrate among plural communication paths in a wireless network, the method comprising:

• detecting a migration of a meter from a first communication path to a second communication path, wherein each said communication path comprises a collector and a plurality of meters that communicate wirelessly with their respective collector, each of the said meters having a wireless communication path to a respective collector that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate meters that serve as repeaters, the wireless communication paths between each meter and a respective collector defining a layout of the network;
• updating a network state;
• retrieving information associated with said meter from a global configuration database;
• and
• downloading said information to a second collector in said second communication path;
• wherein said information associated with said meter comprises first collected data collected by a first collector from said meter;
• merging, at the second collector, second collector data collected by the second collector from said meter with the first collected data, and
• wherein said first collected data and said second collected data comprise metering information representative of usage of a service or commodity.

A method for managing a spontaneous migration of a meter from a first collector in a first communication path to a second collector in a second communication path comprising:

• detecting said spontaneous migration;
• retrieving configuration information and first collected data collected by the first collector from said meter;
• contacting said second collector and downloading said configuration information and said first collected data;
• and
• merging at said second collector said first collected data with second collected data collected by the second collector from said meter;
• wherein said first collected data and said second collected data comprise metering information representative of usage of a service or commodity;
• and
• wherein each said communication path comprises a collector and a plurality of meters that communicate wirelessly with their respective collector, each of the meters having a wireless communication path to a respective collector that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate meters that serve as repeaters, the wireless communication paths between each meter and a respective collector defining a layout of the network.