Network access mechanism based on power

1. A method for providing access to a communications network, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first node connected to the network, a signal from a second node that does not have access to the network and is seeking to gain access to the network;

measuring, by the first node, a power of the signal received from the second node;

selecting, by the first node, a group of communication channel slots based on the measured power of the received signal, wherein the group of communication channel slots is selected from a plurality of groups of communication channel slots that are respectively assigned to different power levels;

opening, by the first node, the selected group of communication channel slots for the second node to choose from;

selecting, by the second node, one or more of the communication channel slots from the selected group of communication channel slots; and

determining, by the first node, whether to permit the second node to gain access to the network based on (i) the measured power of the received signal, and (ii) which one or more communication channel slots the second node selected from the group of communication channel slots.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network is an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining by the first node includes:

determining, by the first node, based on the measured power of the signal from the second node, to permit the second node to gain access to the network, and

in response to the determining to permit, the first node opening a communication link between the first node and the second node, through which the first node is configured to forward communications between the second node and the network.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

receiving, by the second node, a signal from a third node seeking to gain access to the network;

measuring, by the second node, a power of the signal received from the third node; and

determining, by the second node, based on the measured power of the signal from the third node, to permit the third node to gain access to the network; and

in response to the determining by the second node, the second node opening a communication link between the second node and the third node, through which the second node is configured to forward communications between the third node and the network.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of groups, from which the selection is made, includes a first group, a second group and a third group, and wherein the second group partially overlaps the first group and partially overlaps the third group.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of groups, from which the selection is made, includes a first group, a second group and a third group that do not overlap each other.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first node performs the determining such that a probably, of the determining resulting in permitting the second node to gain access to the network, is positively related to the measured power of the received signal.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal received by the first node is a second signal, and wherein the method further comprises, before the first node receives the second signal:

receiving, by the second node, a first signal from the first node;

measuring, by the second node, a power of the first signal; and

determining, by the second node, based on the measured power of the first signal, to transmit the second signal to the first node.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the second node performs the determining such that a probably, of the second node determining to transmit the second signal, is positively related to the measured power of the first signal.

10. A system, comprising:

a network; and

a first node connected to the network and configured to

receive a signal from a second node that does not have access to the network and is seeking to gain access to the network,

measure a power of the signal received from the second node,

select a group of communication channel slots based on the measured power of the received signal, wherein the group of communication channel slots is selected from a plurality of groups of communication channel slots that are respectively assigned to different power levels,

open the selected group of communication channel slots for the second node to choose from, wherein the second node is configured to select at least one of the communication channel slots from group, and

determine whether to permit the second node to gain access to the network based on (i) the measured power of the received signal, and (ii) which one or more communication channel slots the second node selected from the group.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the network is an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) network.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the determining includes:

determining to permit the second node to gain access to the network based on the measured power of the signal from the second node, and

in response to the determining to permit, opening a communication link between the first node and the second node, through which the first node is configured to forward communications between the second node and the network.

13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising the second node, wherein the second node is configured to:

receive a signal from a third node seeking to gain access to the network;

measure a power of the signal received from the third node;

determine, based on the measured power of the signal from the third node, to permit the third node to gain access to the network; and

in response to the determining by the second node, open a communication link between the second node and the third node, through which the second node is configured to forward communications between the third node and the network.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of groups includes a first group, a second group and a third group, and wherein the second group partially overlaps the first group and partially overlaps the third group.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of groups includes a first group, a second group and a third group that do not overlap each other.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the first node is configured to perform the determining such that a probably, of the determining resulting in permitting the second node to gain access to the network, is positively related to the measured power of the received signal.

17. The system of claim 10 , further comprising the second node, wherein the signal received by the first node is a second signal, and wherein the second node is further configured to, before the first node receives of the second signal:

receive a first signal from the first node;

measure a power of the first signal; and

determine, based on the measured power of the first signal, to transmit the second signal to the first node.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the second node is configured to perform the determining such that a probably, of the second node determining to transmit the second signal, is positively related to the measured power of the first signal.