Patent ID: 8331417

Claim:
A wireless communication system comprising: at least one remote terminal; at least one base terminal; and a communication channel coupled between said at least one remote terminal and said at least one base terminal; wherein said remote terminal is configured to: apply a direct sequence spreading code to a data signal at a spreading factor to provide a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signal; insert pilot polarity sequences in said DSSS signal for signaling an adjustment in a data rate and said spreading factor; and transmit said DSSS signal, after inserting said pilot polarity sequences, over said communication channel to said base terminal; wherein said base terminal is configured to: receive said DSSS signal from said remote terminal; despread said received DSSS signal using a matching spreading factor that matches said spreading factor utilized to spread the data signal; utilize said pilot polarity sequences to perform an adjustment of said matching spreading factor to despread said DSSS signal; and wherein said remote terminal and said base terminal are configured to: dynamically vary the spreading factor and matching spreading factor to adjust the data rate based on an estimation of operating quality over time between the remote terminal and base terminal such that the amount of data being transmitted is substantially maximized whilst providing a specified quality of service.