Patent ID: 7995515

Claim:
A gateway for allocating capacity for upstream satellite transmissions to a plurality of user terminals, the gateway comprising: an upstream traffic classifier configured to: receive requests for upstream satellite transmissions capacity from the plurality of user terminals for a time period; identify a subset of the requested capacity with transmission specifications limiting latency and packet spacing variance; and classify the identified subset as prioritized traffic; an upstream resource allocator, communicatively coupled with the upstream traffic classifier, configured to: allocate a first set of time slots within the time period for the prioritized traffic, the first set allocated according to the transmission specifications; subsequently allocate a second set of time slots within the time period to at least a subset of the requested capacity not classified as prioritized traffic; and generate a combined allocation for the time period for a first one of the plurality of user terminals, the combined allocation comprising a block of time slots for the time period to be used as determined by the first user terminal; and a transmitter, communicatively coupled with the upstream resource allocator, configured to transmit the combined allocation in a broadcast signal directed at the first user terminal.