Patent ID: 8570955

Claim:
A method of mapping transmission stations in a wireless network, comprising: grouping, using a computer, the transmission stations such that at least two transmission stations in at least one group transmit a sounding signal in a same time symbol, wherein the grouping further comprises sorting the transmission stations in descending order according to a number of transmission links of each transmission station that are unmapped; beginning with a transmission station with a largest number of unmapped transmission links, evaluating each transmission station based on how many unmapped transmission links can be mapped if the evaluated transmission station is made to transmit a sounding signal; placing each transmission station into a group, based on the evaluation, until all of the transmission links are mapped or until a maximum number of sounding bands available for transmission of sounding signals in the same time symbol are used; and if all of the transmission links are not mapped, repeating the sorting, evaluating, and placing for each time symbol until all of the transmission links are mapped.