Patent ID: 7330920

Claim:
A method for on-demand communications in a communication network with support for a plurality of communication units participating in a common communication, which includes multiple signal initiators, each supplying a signal, which together are virtually simultaneously conveyed as part of the common communication, said method comprising: initiating an on-demand communication by a first signal initiator for conveyance of a first signal to one or more communication units forming a communication group; conveying the first signal intended for the one or more communication units forming a communication group from the first signal initiator via a first uplink channel; receiving for processing the first signal from the first signal initiator at the one or more communication units forming the communication group via respective downlink channels; initiating an on-demand communication by a second signal initiator from the one or more communication units forming the communication group for conveyance of a second signal to the other communication units of the one or more communication units forming the communication group and the first signal initiator, while the on-demand communication initiated by the first signal initiator continues; conveying the second signal intended for the other communication units of the one or more communication units forming a communication group and the first signal initiator from the second signal initiator via a second uplink channel; combining the first signal with the second signal forming a combined signal; receiving for processing the combined signal at any of the one or more communication units forming the communication group, which are not acting as signal initiators, via the respective downlink channels in place of the first signal from the first initiator; and receiving for processing a signal including at least the second signal from the second signal initiator at the first signal initiator via a downlink channel; and wherein each of the first and second signal initiators processes a received signal, where the on-demand communication which originates from the signal initiator that is processing the received signal is not included as part of the processed received signal.