Patent ID: 6236650
Filing Date: 2001-05-22
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
A method of sharing, by a plurality of digital communication means, a transmission medium of a network, including a broadcasting operation of broadcasting on the shared transmission medium, with co-ordination means, service messages indicating to each of the plurality of digital communication means whether or not it is authorized to send on the shared transmission medium, said method comprising:a broadcast operation step of broadcasting authorization-to-send messages of a collective type indicating to each digital communication means of a group of at least one of the plurality of digital communication means that it is authorized to send on the shared transmission medium; anda determining step of determining, for each digital communication means of the group, when it attempts to send on the shared transmission medium and when it receives a collective-type authorization-to-send message authorizing each digital communication means of the group to which it belongs to send, whether or not it may immediately send after the broadcast operation step and the determining step for this collective-type authorization-to-send message, according to a result of random-type ballots carried out by each digital communication means.