Patent ID: 7403538

Claim:
A method for providing multiple access to a communication channel, the method comprising: forming an uplink channel comprising a plurality of frames, each frame comprising a first selectable number of minislots and a second selectable number of slots; receiving a reservation request of a first type contained in a first selected minislot of a selected frame of the uplink channel when information of a first type is ready to be sent, the reservation request of the first type requesting an assignment of at least one slot for transmitting information of the first type in at least one frame that is subsequent to the selected frame; assigning at least one first slot in response to the received reservation request of the first type; receiving a reservation request of a second type contained in a second selected minislot of the selected frame when the second selected minislot is available in the selected frame and when information of a second type is ready to be sent, the reservation request of the second type requesting an assignment of at least one slot for transmitting information of the second type in at least one frame that is subsequent to the selected frame, the reservation request of the second type contending for the second selected minislot based on a contention algorithm; and broadcasting a feedback message in a downlink channel before an end of the selected frame, the feedback message containing minislot assignment information for sending reservation requests of the first and the second type, slot assignment information for transmitting information of the first and the second type, minislot contention information for the reservation requests of the second type received in the selected frame, and allocation time information for the reservation requests of the second type to be initiated in a frame after the selected frame on behalf of the information of the second type.