Patent ID: 6996104

Claim:
Apparatus for allocating and controlling a transmission rate for a multicast session in a wireless communications system, the multicast session providing a multicast service for a first wireless terminal over a wireless channel, the apparatus comprising: at least one input/output (I/O) port; and a processor connected to the at least one I/O port in order to communicate with the first wireless terminal, the processor programmed with computer executable instructions to perform the steps of: (a) receiving a request that the first wireless terminal wishes to join to a multicast group; (b) determining an allowable transmission rate for the first wireless terminal on a basis of signal quality information received from the first wireless terminal; (c) assigning a layer to the first wireless terminal in response to step (a) and step (b), wherein the layer is associated with a multicast content; (d) signaling a multicast address to the first wireless terminal in response to step (c); (e) scheduling packets for the layer; and (f) repeating steps (b), (c), and (d) based upon updates of the allowable transmission rate for the first wireless terminal.