Patent ID: 8270357

Claim:
A method comprising: a femtocell assigning MAC IDs in a first range of MAC IDs to a first group of access terminals, wherein the access terminals in the first group are those that are less than a threshold distance from the femtocell; the femtocell assigning MAC IDs in a second range of MAC IDs to a second group of access terminals, wherein the access terminals in the second group are those that are more than the threshold distance from the femtocell, the first and second ranges being mutually exclusive; the femtocell repeatedly transmitting (1) a first reverse activity bit (RAB) to the access terminals in the first group and (2) a second RAB to the access terminals in the second group; the femtocell measuring reverse noise rise (RNR) on a femtocell carrier, and comparing the measured RNR with a first RNR threshold; and the femtocell determining that the measured RNR is greater than the first RNR threshold, and responsively (1) clearing the first RAB and (2) setting the second RAB.