Patent ID: 7620006

Claim:
A method for tracking loading in a communication system including a plurality of terminals, the method comprising: a hub determining an aggregate load of a sub-set of the terminals, wherein the sub-set is one of a plurality of sub-sets having corresponding service levels; the hub comparing the aggregate load with a load level designated for the service level of the one sub-set; the hub determining a system state of loading of all the sub-sets and allocating capacity of the communication system to the one sub-set according to the system state, if the aggregate load exceeds the designated load level; the hub determining an excess resource value based on a difference between a bandwidth allocation to the one sub-set and the aggregate load, if the aggregate load is less than the designated load level; and the hub determining the excess resource value based on a difference between the bandwidth allocation to the one sub-set and the designated load level, if the aggregate load exceeds the designated load level, wherein the allocated capacity is based on the determined excess resource.