Patent ID: 8116244

Claim:
A method for transmitting a superframe having a plurality of frames from a communication node to a plurality of subscriber units in a communication network, the method comprising: determining a criteria associated with each subscriber unit of the plurality of subscriber units; grouping each subscriber unit into one of a plurality of groups based upon the criteria; determining a coding scheme for a broadcast control header of each one of the plurality of groups wherein at least one of the plurality of groups has its coding scheme of its broadcast control header different from at least another one of the plurality of groups, wherein determining a coding scheme includes determining a repetition rate of a plurality of transmit symbols in each frame; coding the superframe so that the broadcast control header of each frame is encoded at the broadcast control header coding scheme for the group, wherein coding the superframe comprises repeating a plurality of transmit symbols multiple times according to the repetition rate; and transmitting the superframe to the plurality of subscriber units.