Patent ID: 7917131

Claim:
A method for processing call signals in a communication system comprising: receiving a call signal having distributed identification data, wherein the call signal is transmitted using TDMA modulation and is received from a source on a communication channel, wherein the distributed identification data comprises color code data that is distributed among a plurality of bits over a plurality of separate TDMA bursts; obtaining the distributed identification data to determine whether the source is valid; permitting call information derived from the call signal to be played at a communication unit until sufficient distributed identification data has been obtained to determine whether the source is valid; and after obtaining sufficient distributed identification data to determine whether the source is valid, (a) determining whether the source is valid based on the distributed identification data; (b) permitting call information received on the communication channel to be played at the communication unit if the source is determined to be valid; (c) preventing call information received on the communication channel from being played at the communication unit if the source is determined to be invalid; and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) so long as the device continues to receive a call signal on the communication channel.