Patent ID: 8125909

Claim:
A method of congestion control in a communication network, the method comprising: at a subscriber unit: sending a media flow to a correspondent host; receiving, from the correspondent host, an indication of a first level of congestion in the communication network; comparing the first level of congestion to a first congestion threshold during a first time interval, wherein the first congestion threshold is determined based on an assigned priority level for the media flow, and terminating the media flow and entering a sleep mode state when, after expiration of the first time interval, the first level of congestion exceeds the first congestion threshold; while in the sleep mode state, comparing a second level of congestion in the communication network to a second congestion threshold, wherein the second congestion threshold is determined based on the assigned priority level for the media flow, and exiting the sleep mode state and resuming the media flow when the second level of congestion remains below the second congestion threshold for the duration of a second time interval, wherein resuming the media flow comprises determining a time to access the communication network to send the media flow.