Patent ID: 7324544

Claim:
A method for efficiently utilizing bandwidth in a wireless network including a server and one client and another client, wherein data transmission across a data communications channel in the network is organized into frames including a plurality of time slots, wherein one time slot is assigned to the one client and another time slot is assigned to the another client, and wherein the one time slot precedes the another time slot within a frame, the method comprising: at the another client, monitoring the one time slot to determine whether the one client is transmitting data to the server in the one time slot of a current frame; waiting at the another client for a predetermined time interval that is a product of a clear channel assessment time and the number of time slots between the one time slot and the another time slot; and after the predetermined time interval, transmitting data from the another client to the server during the one time slot in the current frame responsive to a determination that the one client is not transmitting during the one slot in the current frame.