Patent ID: 8125903

Claim:
A method for optimizing data rates when communicating multicast data in a wireless communications network, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining by a media gateway, available data rates for multicast data corresponding to a plurality of user stations; computing by the media gateway, an optimal data rate for each user station; and controlling by the media gateway, the data rate for each data packet of multicast data at each access network cell for each user station by sorting data packets for each user station into rate tunnels, wherein the sorting step includes: establishing a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) between the media gateway and a plurality of access points serving the plurality of user stations, wherein each VLAN operates as a VLAN tunnel providing a different data rate, and each VLAN tunnel transmits only packets that should be sent out at a particular data rate associated with the VLAN tunnel; and associating by the media gateway, packets to the proper VLAN for each user station.