Patent ID: 7580444

Claim:
A method of transmitting an input data stream via a radio link, the input data stream having an input data rate, the method comprising the steps of: a) converting the input data stream into a plurality of parallel data sub-streams using serial-to-parallel conversion, wherein each of the parallel data sub-streams carries a different portion of the input data stream, each portion defining a sub-stream data rate; b) generating a carrier waveform having a hopping frequency for each parallel data sub-stream; c) modulating each carrier waveform using the respective parallel data sub-stream according to a modulation format to produce a frequency-hopping subband signal, said sub-band signal having a subband bandwidth related to the corresponding sub-stream data rate; and, d) forming a multi-subband frequency-hopping RF signal from the frequency-hopping subband signals for transmitting thereof via the radio link using an RF transmitting unit; wherein each of the frequency-hopping subband signals has a different frequency hopping sequence and a frequency hopping range, the frequency hopping ranges being such that at least two of the frequency hopping ranges have at least one common frequency, and wherein the subband bandwidths are individually adjustable in dependence upon at least one of: frequency bands available for the RF transmission and external signal interference in the radio link.