Patent ID: 6421541
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
A method for maintaining a desired prescribed link quality from a communications terminal to a central node in a communications link system, comprising the steps of:arranging the communications terminal to utilize an essentially fixed output power amplifier; transmitting from the communications terminal a communication signal at a normal data rate on any given communication channel to the central node; receiving information of link quality from the central node; arranging the central node receiver to order the communications terminal to step down its data rate when the central node receives poor signal quality in order to maintain a desired value of link quality at the central node receiver while still using an essentially fixed output power of the communications terminal; adjusting the data rate of the communications terminal for a new communication channel bandwidth; adjusting the central node receiver for the communication channel bandwidth adopted to the new lower data rate to obtain the desired power density per Hertz bandwidth; reallocating bandwidth of the communications link system no longer used for the particular communication terminal at the lower data rate to obtain further available communication bandwidth at the central node for other channels then utilizing the bandwidth made free by the decrease of bandwidth for the particular terminal operating at the lower data rate, whereby the method provides an effective utilization of the available bandwidth at the system node.