Patent ID: 8446887

Claim:
A method comprising: a radio access network (RAN) receiving, from a first wireless communication device (WCD), a first representation of a channel, wherein the channel comprises a set of carrier frequencies, wherein the first representation of the channel is based on a first aggregate signal quality at which the first WCD receives the set of carrier frequencies, and wherein the RAN contains a first data to transmit to the first WCD; the RAN receiving, from a second WCD, a second representation of the channel, wherein the second representation of the channel is based on a second aggregate signal quality at which the second WCD receives the set of carrier frequencies, and wherein the RAN contains a second data to transmit to the second WCD; in response to receiving the first and second representations of the channel, the RAN determining (i) that the first WCD and the second WCD are contending with one another for a first time-division multiplexed (TDM) slot on the channel, and (ii) that the first aggregate signal quality is greater than the second aggregate signal quality; and in response to determining (i) that the first WCD and the second WCD are contending with one another for the first TDM slot and (ii) that the first aggregate signal quality is greater than the second aggregate signal quality, the RAN transmitting the first data to the first WCD in the first TDM slot.