Patent ID: 8477738

Claim:
A method for coordinating communications between a user equipment and a base station using a dual carrier communications protocol, the method comprising: receiving a first dual carrier assignment that identifies a first set of timeslots for uplink and downlink communications between the user equipment and the base station for a first channel and a second channel; determining, at the user equipment, a usage metric defining a threshold for a communication activity between the user equipment and the base station on the first channel; monitoring the first set of timeslots; tracking, at the user equipment, usage of the first set of timeslots for uplink and downlink communications between the user equipment and the base station on at least the first channel; after detecting, at the user equipment, that the communication activity between the user equipment and the base station on the first channel has reached the threshold: reducing, at the user equipment and without an input from the base station, a number of timeslots monitored by the user equipment on the first channel to identify a reduced set of timeslots on the first channel, and communicating with the base station using at least one timeslot in the reduced set of timeslots; receiving a second dual carrier assignment that modifies a time slot assignment on the second channel; and after receiving the second dual carrier assignment, continuing to monitor only the reduced set of timeslots on the first channel.