Patent ID: 7242694

Claim:
A method of scheduling bandwidth, comprising: defining a group poll definition that defines a plurality of groups of cable modems, wherein each group poll definition will share a unicast transmission opportunity; and generating one cable modem management message which is used by the cable modems in said group poll definition to schedule bandwidth, wherein generating the one cable modem management message includes: mapping into said cable modem management message a first of a pair of information elements, said first pair of information elements consisting of a Service ID (SID) identifying uniquely one of the cable modems in said group poll definition and an offset which is a starting offset for transmission opportunities, and mapping into said cable modem management message a second of said pair of information elements, said second pair of information elements consisting of a Service ID (SID) having a null designation and an offset which is the sum of said starting offset for transmission opportunities and a burst duration of said transmission opportunity identified by said first pair of information elements.