Patent ID: 7304964

Claim:
In a radio communication system having a sending station operable to send data upon a forward channel to a first receiving station and to at least a second receiving station, the first receiving station operable pursuant to a first communication-system standard and the second receiving station operable pursuant to a second communication-system standard, an improvement of a message generator for the sending station for generating a synchronization message for synchronizing the first receiving station and the second receiving station, said message generator comprising: a formatter operable for formatting the data into a first synchronization message and a second synchronization message, the first synchronization message detectable by the first receiving station and the second synchronization message detectable by the second receiving station, the first synchronization message usable for establishing synchronization with the sending station by the first receiving station and the second synchronization message usable for establishing synchronization with the sending station by the second receiving station; and a transmitter configured for transmitting the first synchronization message and the second synchronization message upon the forward channel, wherein the first synchronization message comprises at least a portion of the second synchronization message and a field configured to indicate whether or not the second synchronization message is available, and wherein both the first and second synchronization messages are transmitted to the same receiving station.