Method to manage an opportunistic communication network

A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions stored therein which upon execution instruct at least one processor of a first terminal of a communication network associated with a first node in a social network, when a connection is established between the first terminal and a second terminal of the communication network, to:

• check, using processing circuitry, whether the second terminal is associated with a second node of the social network in social networking contact with the first node, and if so:
• transmit a ranking value of the first terminal to the second terminal;
• receive a ranking value of the second terminal;
• update the ranking value of the first terminal based on the ranking value of the second terminal;
• the ranking value of the first terminal being taken into account, by the first terminal, in forwarding messages from the first terminal in the communication network.

An opportunistic communication network, wherein end-to-end connectivity between devices is performed using multi-hop data transfer over intermediate devices when they are temporarily connected, said opportunistic communication network comprising a first terminal associated with a first node in a social network, the first terminal comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory having instructions which upon execution instruct the processor to:
• establish a connection between the first terminal and a second terminal;
• check, using processing circuitry, whether the second terminal is associated with a second node of the social network in social networking contact with the first node, and if so:
• transmit a ranking value of the first terminal to the second terminal;
• receive a ranking value of the second terminal;
• update the ranking value of the first terminal based on the ranking value of the second terminal;
• the ranking value of the first terminal being taken into account, by the first terminal, in forwarding messages from the first terminal in the opportunistic communication network.

A first terminal in a communication network, said first terminal being associated with a first node in a social network, comprising:

• a processor;
• a memory having instructions which upon execution when a connection is established between the first terminal and a second terminal of the communication network, instruct the processor to:
• check, using processing circuitry, whether the second terminal is associated with a second node of the social network in social networking contact with the first node, and if so:
• transmit a ranking value of the first terminal to the second terminal;
• receive a ranking value of the second terminal;
• update the ranking value of the first terminal based on the ranking value of the second terminal;
• the ranking value of the first terminal being taken into account, by the first terminal, in forwarding messages from the first terminal in the communication network.