A method and computer programs for controlling relay in a group communication, including transmitting, by an originating mobile computing device (OUE) to a set of recipient mobile computing devices (RUE1, . . . RUEn) members of a communication group, a message; receiving the message by at least some of the recipient mobile computing devices that individually send an acknowledge message to the rest of the mobile computing device members of the group; receiving, by one of the recipient mobile computing devices (RUEi) which has not received the message from the originating mobile computing device but has received at least two acknowledge messages from potential relaying mobile computing devices, three different parameters from each of the potential relaying mobile computing devices; and applying, by the recipient mobile computing device, an algorithm accounting for the three parameters to select which relaying mobile computing devices relays the communications initiated by the originating mobile computing device.