Patent ID: 8064410

Claim:
A method for a radio access network (RAN) to communicate on a preferred channel to a plurality of wireless communication devices (WCDs), wherein the preferred channel comprises a set of carrier frequencies, wherein the preferred channel operates according to time-division multiplexing (TDM), wherein the preferred channel is divided into TDM frames and each TDM frame comprises a series of TDM slots, the method comprising: the RAN receiving, from a first WCD of the plurality of WCDs, a first representation of the preferred channel, wherein the first WCD receives the set of carrier frequencies of the preferred channel with a first signal quality, and wherein the RAN contains a first data to transmit to the first WCD, wherein the first data is associated with a first priority; the RAN receiving, from a second WCD of the plurality of WCDs, a second representation of the preferred channel, wherein the second WCD receives the set of carrier frequencies of the preferred channel with a second signal quality, wherein the RAN contains a second data to transmit to the second WCD, wherein the second data is associated with the first priority; the RAN making a first determination that the first WCD and the second WCD are both contending for a first TDM slot during a given TDM frame on the preferred channel, wherein the first determination is based on both the first data and the second data being associated with the first priority; in response to making the first determination, the RAN making a second determination that the first signal quality is greater than the second signal quality; in response to making the second determination, the RAN assigning the first TDM slot to the first WCD; and after assigning the first TDM slot to the first WCD, the RAN transmitting the first data to the first WCD in the first TDM slot.