Patent ID: 9030955
Filing Date: 2015-05-12
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
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.