Patent ID: 8588121

Claim:
A method for improving power efficiency of a plurality of subscriber stations in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: receiving, by at least one subscriber station, resource allocation information using at least one sub-Media Access Protocol (sub-MAP) message, each sub-MAP message comprising a plurality of information elements, each information element comprising a Connection Identifier (CID), the CID uniquely identifying at least one of the plurality of subscriber stations; receiving, by at least one subscriber station, a split CID that includes a first part and a second part based on pre-defined criteria; receiving, by at least one subscriber station, an index comprising a plurality of entries, wherein the plurality of entries in the index includes one of the first or second parts; switching, by at least one subscriber station, to a power-saving mode in the absence of a match between each entry of the plurality of entries in the index and an equivalent part of CIDs associated with one or more of the plurality of subscriber stations; and recombining, by at least one subscriber station, a split CID to determine the resource allocation information when the equivalent part of CID associated with the at least one subscriber station matches an entry of the plurality of entries in the index.