Patent ID: 6965774

Claim:
In a communication system that provides a plurality of conventional channels, some of which may be shared concurrently by at least two subscribers at a single cell station as spatial channels, a method for preparing the cell station of the communication system for a new subscriber comprising: a. evaluating combinations of existing subscribers for concurrently sharing a conventional channel at the cell station as spatial channels including rating each combination and storing initial rating information; and b. initiating enhancing activities for one or more subscribers associated with one or more combinations indicated by the rating information, the enhancing activities operable to improve a rating for a given combination such that a proposed combination is better suited for spatial channels than as indicated by the initial rating information for the combination, the enhancing activities include changing an alignment of one or more existing subscribers in a combination indicated by the initial rating information to be a best combination, and the enhancing activities including i. determining if a best combination of subscribers does not satisfy a first performance criteria based on the initial rating information and as such the combination is not a good candidate for spatial channels, ii. determining if enhancing activities as applied to members of the best combination would create a spatial channel that satisfies the first performance criteria; iii. if not, applying a different set of enhancing activities to members of the combination such that a combination of one or more new subscribers and one or more members of the combination will satisfy the first performance criteria.