Patent ID: 8583117

Claim:
A wireless communication device that selectively communicates with a base station wherein the base station includes a slotted access protocol for incoming communications from wireless communication devices, the slotted access protocol including a plurality of discrete slots in which communication packets from wireless communication devices arrive and communication packets arriving earlier in a slot are handled first by the base station, the wireless communication device comprising: a computer platform configured to substantially synchronize communications from the wireless communication device with the slotted access protocol of the base station; a first communication device configured to send data to or request resources from the base station by sending a first access probe to the base station; and a second communication device configured to send a second access probe to the base station, determine whether the second access probe contains priority data, and prioritize when the second access probe will arrive within the slots at the base station through setting a predetermined delay in a transmission of the second access probe from the wireless communication device to the base station based on the determination, thereby causing higher priority access probes to arrive earlier in a slot at the base station.