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

1. A method of selecting a set of download data providers in a wireless network, comprising:

receiving a request to download a data file from a wireless device at a network node, the 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, a set of potential providers that can provide one or more parts of the data file;

determining, at the network node, a plurality of indicators that correspond to each of the set of potential providers, the plurality of indicators each based on one or more wireless network operating conditions of each of the set of potential providers, wherein the plurality of indicators comprises an indicator of a modulation and coding scheme associated with at least one of the set of potential providers;

ranking the set of potential providers at the network node based on the plurality of indicators that correspond to each of the set of potential providers;

selecting the set of download data providers at the network node based on the ranking of the set of potential providers; and,

transferring the data file to the wireless device by transferring one or more parts of the data file from each of the set of download data providers to the wireless device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of indicators further comprises an indicator of distance from each of the set of potential providers to the wireless device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of indicators further comprises an indicator of throughput for one or more elements of the wireless network.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the indicator of throughput for one or more elements of the wireless network is based on a throughput of a backhaul link.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the indicator of throughput for one or more elements of the wireless network is based on a throughput of a core network link.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the indicator of throughput for one or more elements of the wireless network comprises a modulation and coding scheme associated with at least one of the set of potential providers.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

eliminating, at the network node, from the set of potential providers at least one potential provider associated with an indicator of wireless network operating conditions that meets a criteria.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of potential providers comprises wired devices and wireless devices.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein ranking the set of potential providers at the network based on the plurality of indicators that correspond to each of the set of potential providers comprises:

comparing each of the plurality of indicators to a threshold;

eliminating each potential provider associated with the plurality of indicators that do not satisfy the threshold from ranking consideration; and

ranking the potential providers based on the plurality of indicators that satisfy the threshold.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein ranking the set of potential providers at the network based on the plurality of indicators that correspond to each of the set of potential providers comprises:

normalizing each of the plurality of indicators;

performing a weighted sum of each of the normalized indicators; and

ranking the set of potential providers based on the weighted sum of the normalized indicators.

11. 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.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first wireless device and the second wireless device are selected to be members of the set of download data provider based on the third ranking number.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the third wireless device is not selected to be a member of the set of download data providers based on at least one indicator of wireless network operating conditions associated with the third wireless device meeting a criteria.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the indicators of wireless network operating conditions further comprise indicators of distance from the wireless device to the first wireless device, the second wireless device, and the third wireless device.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the indicators of wireless network operating conditions further comprise indicators of throughput for one or more elements of the wireless network.

16. 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.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the modulation and coding scheme indication is associated with the first upload device.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

selecting a second upload device from the one or more wired devices to provide at least a second portion of the data file based on a second indication of at least one network operating condition.

19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second indication of at least one network operating condition is associated with a throughput of one or more elements of a wireless network.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the throughput of the one or more elements of a wireless network is based on an indicator of a modulation and coding scheme associated with the first upload device.