Patent ID: 7386320

Claim:
A method of transmitting multicast traffic data in a resource channel for use in a wireless multiple access communications system that includes at least one base station and a plurality of wireless terminals, the method comprising: generating said resource channel so it is defined by bandwidth and time, and includes a traffic channel including a plurality of traffic segments and an assignment channel, said assignment channel being a common control channel that includes a plurality of assignments segments, each assignment segment having a fixed predetermined relationship to a corresponding one of said traffic segments so that for each assignment segment there is a fixed one-to-one association between said assignment segment of said assignment channel and the corresponding traffic segment of said traffic channel; and transmitting traffic channel segment assignment information in assignment segments of said assignment channel, said step of transmitting traffic channel segment assignment infonnation including transmitting, in each of a plurality of assignment segments, one of a multicast paging message that includes a multicast group wireless terminal identifier and a specific paging message that includes a wireless terminal identifier; and transmitting data including multicast traffic data and point-to-point traffic data in traffic channel segments of said traffic channel, said step of transmitting data in traffic channel segments of said traffic channel including transmitting multicast traffic data in traffic channel segments that correspond in said predetermined manner to assignment segments in which a multicast paging message is transmitted, the multicast traffic data transmitted in a traffic segment being intended for a multicast group identified by the multicast group wireless terminal identifier included in the corresponding assignment segment and transmitting point-to-point traffic in traffic channel segments that correspond in said predetermined manner to assignment segments in which a wireless terminal identifier is transmitted, the point-to-point traffic data transmitted in a traffic channel segment being for a particular wireless terminal intended to receive said point-to-point traffic data that is identified by the wireless terminal identifier transmitted in the assignment segment corresponding to the traffic channel segment in which the point-to-point traffic data is transmitted.