Selection of peer-to-peer providers in a wireless network

A method of transferring a data file to a wireless device by transferring one or more portions of a data file from each of a set of download data providers, comprising:

• storing the data file on a first wireless device linked to a wireless network;
• storing the data file on a second wireless device linked to the wireless network;
• storing the data file on a third wireless device linked to the wireless network;
• determining, at a network node, indicators of wireless network operating conditions associated with the first wireless device, the second wireless device, and the third wireless device, respectively, the first, second and third wireless devices each communicating with a wireless device interface of an access node, the network node communicating with a network interface of the access node, wherein the indicators comprise an indicator of a modulation and coding scheme associated with the first wireless device, the second wireless device, and the third wireless device;
• associating, at the network node, a first ranking number with the first wireless device, a second ranking number with the second wireless device, and a third ranking number with the third wireless device, the first ranking number, the second ranking number, and the third ranking number are based on the indicators of the wireless network operating conditions associated with the first wireless device, the second wireless device, and the third wireless device, respectively;
• and,
• selecting, at the network node, the first wireless device and the second wireless device to be members of the set of download data providers based on the first ranking number and the second ranking number.

A method of operating a communication system, comprising:

• storing a data file on one or more wireless devices;
• storing the data file on one or more wired devices;
• receiving a request to download the data file from a requesting wireless device at a network node, the requesting wireless device communicating with a wireless device interface of an access node, the network node communicating with a network interface of the access node;
• determining, at the network node, an indication of at least one network operating condition for at least one of the one or more wireless devices, wherein the indication of at least one network operating condition comprises a modulation and coding scheme associated with at least one of the one or more wireless devices;
• based on the indication of the at least one network operating condition, selecting, at the network node, a first upload device from the one or more wireless devices to provide at least a first portion of the data file;
• and,
• supplying the first portion of the data file to the requesting wireless device using the first upload device to provide the first portion of the data file.