A multicast architecture for wireless mesh networks

The proposed multicast architecture for multi-hop wireless mesh networks enables the mesh networks to join the global multicast group seamlessly, and extend the multicast support to any routable or non-routable devices in the wireless mesh networks. A communications network comprising a plurality of wireless devices (WRD), at least one Internet access point (LAP), and at least one Internet edge router. The Internet access point acts as a proxy device for wireless devices that are using the Internet access point to access a global Internet, wherein the Internet access point runs a group management protocol with a Internet edge router to register multicast groups for devices associated with the Internet access point (220), and wherein the Internet edge router runs a wired multicast routing protocol to join the Internet edge router to a global Internet multicast group (210).