Patent ID: 8565081

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for adapting data rate in a communication system, the method comprising: receiving, by a receiving computing device, a data transmission that a transmitting computing device is transmitting at an initial data rate; determining, by the receiving computing device and based on an error rate of the data transmission at the initial data rate, that a first criterion is satisfied for requesting an increase in the data transmission from the initial data rate to a first subsequent data rate, the first subsequent data rate being a higher data rate than the initial data rate; requesting, by the receiving computing device, that the transmitting computing device increase the data transmission from the initial data rate to the first subsequent data rate; determining, by the receiving computing device and based on an error rate of the data transmission at the first subsequent data rate, whether a second criterion is satisfied for maintaining the first subsequent data rate; maintaining, by the receiving computing device if the second criterion is determined to be satisfied, a state of the receiving computing device for receiving the data transmission at the first subsequent data rate; requesting, by the receiving computing device if the second criterion is not determined to be satisfied, that the transmitting computing device decrease the data transmission from the first subsequent data rate to the initial data rate; and determining, by the receiving computing device and based on a second error rate of the data transmission at the initial data rate, that a third criterion is satisfied for requesting a decrease in the data transmission from the initial data rate to a second subsequent data rate, the second subsequent data rate being a lower data rate than the initial data rate.