Patent ID: 8068435

Claim:
A communication apparatus operative for at least one of transmission and reception of signals in a network via a transmission waveform using a transmission frame format and carrying control information as well as user data in data packets, comprising; a source of a plurality of waveforms, at least two of said waveforms having different waveform parameters; and a user data rate selector that is operative to dynamically change a user data rate of the user data by selecting from said source one of said at least two waveforms with different waveform parameters, wherein the waveform parameters are least one of a type of modulation and a rate of coding, wherein the selection of the waveform is based on at least one of a user selection and a transmission condition of transmitted signals, wherein the transmission condition is a signal quality of the transmitted signals corresponding to carrier to noise ratio, Es/No, wherein the user data rate selector selects a waveform from said at least two waveforms based on the Es/No value, wherein the user rate selector is configured to: obtain a measured Es/No value; calculate a carrier to noise ratio limit based on the measured Es/No value and a predetermined error margin; compare a preferred carrier to noise ratio of the transmission waveform and the calculated carrier to noise ratio limit; select a waveform with highest user data rate from among waveforms that have a preferred carrier to noise ratio that is less than or equal to the calculated carrier to noise ratio limit if the calculated carrier to noise ratio limit is less than the preferred carrier to noise ratio of the transmission waveform; select a waveform with a higher user data rate if the calculated carrier to noise ratio limit is equal to or higher than the preferred carrier to noise ratio of the waveform with the higher user date rate by a predetermined hysteresis; dynamically reconfigure the apparatus to use the selected waveform as the transmission waveform; and dynamically modify the waveform parameters in the transmission frame to a type of modulation and a rate of coding corresponding to the selected waveform.