Patent ID: 8831662
Filing Date: 2014-09-09
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. In a two-way radio frequency (RF) communications system having a plurality of base stations (BSs), one or more RF channels, and a plurality of subscriber units, a method comprising, at a first device: receiving, from a first subscriber unit out of the plurality of the subscriber units, a virtual radio conferencing call request identifying (i) a plurality of other subscriber units out of the plurality of the subscriber units requested to be a party to the virtual radio conference call and (ii) a conference time period including a start time and one of an end time and a duration of the virtual radio conference call; identifying the plurality of the BSs in the RF communications system, each BS associated with at least one of the first subscriber unit and the subscriber units requested to be a party to the virtual radio conference call; prior to the start time, reserving an RF channel at each of the plurality of identified BSs for the conference time period by storing an indication of each reserved RF channel and associated BS so as to refrain from indicating availability of the each reserved RF channel for the conference time period to future virtual radio conference call requestors; and subsequently and substantially at a beginning of the conference time period, causing a virtual radio conference call start message to be transmitted, via corresponding the each of the plurality of the identified BSs, to the first subscriber unit and each of the plurality of the other subscriber units instructing the subscriber units to join the virtual radio conference call via the reserved RF channels at their respective BSs.