Patent ID: 8787144

Claim:
A method of scheduling signal transmission for a plurality of devices configured to transmit signals through different transmission mediums to a combiner for combination into a common transmission medium, the method comprising: determining attenuation associated with the different transmission mediums used by the plurality of devices to communicate with the combiner; identifying a first device of the plurality of devices having attenuation within a first attenuation range; identifying a second device of the plurality of devices having attenuation within a second attenuation range, the second attenuation range being less than the first attenuation range; instructing the first device to transmit according to pulse amplitude modulation (PAM), including instructing the first device to convert to the frequency domain a first PAM carrier block used to convey the signal transmission, the first PAM being converted to create a first converted PAM carrier block having at least one spectral hole; instructing the second device to transmit according to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), including instructing the second device to convert a second OFDM carrier block used to convey the signal transmission, the second OFDM carrier block being converted to create a second converted OFDM carrier block that fills at least one of the at least one spectral hole; and instructing the first device and the second device to respectively transmit the first converted PAM carrier block and the second converted OFDM carrier block at a same frequency band, a same transmission block duration, and a same transmission block start time, thereby resulting in the combiner adding the first converted PAM carrier block with the second converted OFDM carrier block for transmission over the common transmission medium.