Patent ID: 7430209

Claim:
A method for providing bandwidth to users in a multi-user communications system, in which each user has a predetermined committed data rate, and in which bandwidth is provided to users in successive service intervals, each comprising a predetermined quantity of bandwidth for user transmissions, comprising the following steps in each service interval: providing to each user in turn the bandwidth requested by that user according to a scheduling procedure in which bandwidth is provided to users in a high priority subclass before users in a low priority subclass, the provision of bandwidth ceasing either when the bandwidth in the service interval is exhausted or when all of the requested bandwidth has been provided to users; measuring the average transmitted data rate achieved by each user over a sampling period, the sampling period being longer than the service interval; if the average data rate of a user in the high priority subclass exceeds their committed data rate, moving that user to the low priority subclass; if the average data rate of a user in the low priority subclass is lower than their committed data rate, moving that user to the high priority subclass; and assigning all users newly seeking bandwidth to the high priority subclass.