Patent ID: 8165099

Claim:
A method, in a wireless environment that includes a first device, a second device, and a control channel and a data channel established in an uplink between the first device and the second device, the method comprising: determining, via the first device, a gating configuration associated with the control channel; receiving, via the first device, a gated control signal, via the control channel, based on the gating configuration; synchronizing, via the first device, time slots for signal bursts associated with the gated control signal and time slots for data packets associated with the data channel; scheduling, via the first device, transmissions of the data packets based on the synchronized time slots; generating, via the first device, an absolute grant based on the scheduled transmissions of the data packets; and transmitting, via the first device, the absolute grant to the second device; scheduling, via the first device, transmission of a particular data packet when a particular time slot includes an end of the particular data packet aligned with an end of a control signal burst, and preventing, via the first device, transmission of the particular data packet when the particular data packet is not aligned with the control signal burst in the particular time slot.