MXPA00002632A - Channel structure for communication systems - Google Patents

Abstract

In a channel structure for use in communication systems, two sets of physical channels, one for the forward link (50) and another for the reverse link (52), are utilized to facilitate communication of a variety of logical channels. The physical channels comprise data and control channels. In the exemplary embodiment, the data channels comprise fundamental channels which are used to transmit voice traffic, data traffic, high speed data, and other overhead information and supplemental channels which are used to transmit high speed data. The fundamental channels can be released when the remote stations are idle to more fully utilize the available capacity. The control channels are used to transmit paging and control messages and scheduling information.

Description

CHANNEL STRUCTURE FOR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a channel structure for communication systems.

II. Description of the Related Art The use of code division multiple access modulation (CDMA) techniques is one of several techniques for facilitating communications in which a large number of users of the system are present. Although other techniques are known such as time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA), the CDMA has significant advantages over these other techniques. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is described in US Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled "MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM OF EXTENDED SPECTRUM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERERS" and granted to the beneficiary. of the present invention to be incorporated herein by reference. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is best described in U.S. Patent No. 5,103,459, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING FORMS OF GENERAL WAVE IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM", granted to the beneficiary of the present invention incorporated herein by reference. The CDMA system can be designed to meet the Mobile Station Compatibility Standard - Base Station for Dual-Range Broadband Spectrum Cell System "TIA / EIA / IS-95", hereinafter referred to as the IS-95 standard. Another code division multiple access communication system includes the GLOBALSTAR communication system to communicate to everyone using low Earth orbit satellites. The CDMA communication system is capable of transmitting traffic data and voice data on round-trip link. A method for transmitting traffic data in fixed-size code channel box is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 5,504,773, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMATING DATA TO TRANSMISSION" granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated here as a reference In agreement - with the IS-95 standard, the traffic data and voice data are distributed in a traffic channel box which are of 20 milliseconds in duration. The data rate of each frame of the traffic channel is variable and can be as high as 14.4kbps.

In the CDMA system, communications between users are conducted through one or more stations. A first user at a remote station communicates with a second user at a second remote station by transmitting data on the channel back to a base station. The base station receives the data and can route the data to another base station. The data is transmitted on a forward link from the same base station, or a second base station, to the second remote station. The outbound link refers to the base station transmission to the remote station and the return link refers to the transmission of the remote station to a base station. In IS-95 systems, the forward link and the return link are assigned separate sequences. The remote station communicates with at least one base station during a communication. Remote CDMA stations are able to communicate with multiple base stations simultaneously during flexible transfer. Flexible transfer is the process of establishing a link with a new base station before breaking the link with the previous base station. Flexible transfer minimizes the likelihood of dropped calls. The method and system for providing communication with a remote station through more than one base station during the flexible transfer process are described in U.S. Patent No. 5,267,261 entitled "FLEXIBLE MOBILE ASSISTED TRANSFER IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM", granted to the beneficiary of the present invention incorporated herein by reference. Flexible transfer is the process by which communication occurs over multiple sectors that are served with the same base station. The flexible transfer process is described in detail in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 763,498, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERS BETWEEN SECTORS OF A COMMON BASE STATION", filed on December 11, 1996, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention incorporated herein by reference. Given the growing demand for wireless data applications, the need for highly efficient wireless data communication systems has become increasingly significant. An exemplary communication system that is optimized for data transmission is described in detail in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 654,443, entitled "CDMA HIGH-SPEED DATA CDMA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM", filed on May 28, 1996, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference. The system described in US Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 654,443 is a variable speed communication system capable of transmitting to one of a plurality of data rates. A significant difference between voice services and data services is that the former requires a common fixed service grade (GOS) for all users. Typically, for digital systems that provide voice services, these translate into a fixed and equal data rate for all users and a maximum tolerable value of percent error of the voice frequency frames, independent of the link resources. For the same data rate, a greater allocation of resources is required for users who have weaker links. This results in an efficient use of available resources. In contrast, for data services, the GOS may be different from user to user and may be an optimized parameter to increase the overall efficiency of the data communication system. The GOS of a communication system is typically defined as the total delay incurred in the transfer of a data message. Another significant difference between voice services and data services is the fact that the former impose strict and fixed delay requirements. Typically, the delay of a total path of voice frequency frames must be less than 100 milliseconds. In contrast, the data delay <; it can become a variable parameter used to optimize the efficiency of the data communication system. The parameters that measure the quality and effectiveness of a data communication system are the total delay required to transfer a data packet at the average system throughput rate. The total delay does not have the same impact on data communication as on voice communication, but it is an important metric for measuring the quality of the data communication system. The average rate of return is a measure of the efficiency of the data transmission capacity of the communication system. A communication system designed to optimize the transmission of data services and voice services needs to solve the particular requirements of both services. The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a channel structure that facilitates data transmissions and voice services.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In one aspect the invention provides a channel structure for communication systems comprising: at least one fundamental channel for transmitting traffic data, voice data, and signaling; a supplementary channel for transmitting traffic data; and a paging channel to transmit paging messages. In another aspect the invention provides a transmission device for a communication system, the device comprises a transmitter for: transmitting in at least one fundamental channel traffic data, voice data and signaling; transmit traffic data in a supplementary channel; and transmit paging messages in a paging channel. In a further aspect the invention provides, a receiving device for a communication system, the device comprises a receiver for: receiving traffic data, voice and signaling data transmitted on at least one fundamental channel; receive traffic data transmitted in a supplementary channel; and receive paging messages transmitted in a paging channel. The invention also provides a channel structure for use in communication systems. A communication system comprises two sets of physical channels, one for the forward link and the other for the return link, physical channels which are used to facilitate the communication of a variety of logical channels. The present invention can be incorporated into two sets of physical channels, one for the forward link and the other for the return link, to facilitate the communication of a variety of logical channels. Physical channels comprise data and control channels. In an exemplary mode, the data channels comprise fundamental channels which are used to transmit voice traffic, data traffic, high speed data and other air information and supplementary channels which are used to transmit data at high speed. In the exemplary mode, round-trip traffic channels can be released when the remote stations are busier to use the available capacity more fully. The control channels are used to transmit programming information control messages. Preferably, the traffic channels comprise fundamental and supplementary channels. The fundamental channels can be used to transmit voice traffic, data traffic, high-speed data and signaling messages. The supplementary channels can be used to transmit data at high speed. In the exemplary mode, the fundamental and supplementary channels can be transmitted concurrently. In exemplary mode, to improve reliability (especially for signaling messages) the fundamental channels are supported by a flexible transfer. Preferably, the supplementary channels transmit to one of a plurality of data rates. The data rate is selected based on a set of parameters, which may comprise the amount of information to be transmitted, the transmission power available to the remote station, and the energy per bit required. The data rate is assigned by a programmer so that the rate of return of the system is maximized. Preferably the power levels of all the base stations in an active set of the remote station are periodically measured during a communication. The power levels? of multiple cells are transmitted to the base stations that use the information to transmit data at high speed of the "best" set of base stations, thereby increasing the capacity. In addition, the power levels of all the carriers are also measured periodically and the power levels? of multiple carriers are transmitted to the base stations. Base stations can use the information to increase the power level of weak carriers or reassign the remote station to a new bearer assignment. The remote station can operate in one of three modes of operation that comprise the traffic channel mode, the suspended mode and the latent mode. If the period of inactivity since the end of the last transmission exceeds a first predetermined threshold, the remote station is placed in the suspended mode. In the exemplary mode, in the suspended mode, the traffic channel is released but the status information is retained by both of the remote station and the base station and the remote station verifies the paging channel in the non-slotted mode. In this way the remote station can be brought back to the traffic channel mode in a short period of time. If the period of inactivity exceeds a second predetermined threshold, the remote station is placed dormant. In the exemplary mode, in the latent mode, the status information is not retained by any of the remote station and the base station, but the remote station continues to check in a paging channel in the slotted mode for paging messages. The control data can be transmitted over control boxes which are a fraction of the traffic channel box. In the exemplary mode, the data rate requested by the remote station and other information is transmitted by the remote station using a control channel frame format, which minimizes the processing delay between the time of making a request for data rate at the time of actual transmission at the assigned data rate. In addition, the present invention provides blanking indicator bits for the round-trip links that can be used in place of the NACK RLP frames defined by the IS-707 standard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and additional features, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments of the invention set forth below with reference to the accompanying figures, in which like reference characters identify corresponding aspects and where: FIGURE 1 is a diagram of an exemplary communication system embodying the invention; FIGURE 2 is a block diagram illustrating the basic subsystems of the exemplary communication system embodying the present invention; and FIGURE 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the relationship between physical and logical channels on the outbound link; FIGURE 4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the relationship between the physical and logical channels on the return channel. FIGURES 5 A and 5B are exemplary diagrams illustrating the use of power levels? between cells to control the transmission of the supplementary channel, one way, respectively; FIGURE 6 is an exemplary spectrum diagram of the received multiple carrier signal; FIGURE 7 is a diagram of an exemplary return link control / pilot channel format; FIGURE 7B is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating high-speed data transmission over the return link; FIGURE 7C is an exemplary timing diagram that illustrates the use of power levels? between cells; FIGURE 7D is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating the use of power levels between carriers; FIGURE 7E is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating the transmission of the EIB bits; FIGURES 8A and 8B are exemplary timing diagrams showing the transitions to the suspended and latent modes and the exemplary state diagram showing the transitions between the different modes of operation, respectively; FIGURE 8C is an exemplary diagram showing a scenario where a remote station operating in suspend mode sends a message to update location after detecting a new pilot; FIGURES 9A-9B are exemplary diagrams illustrating the protocol for the transitions initiated by the base station of the suspended and latent modes to the traffic channel mode, respectively; and FIGURES 9C-9D are exemplary diagrams illustrating the protocol for transitions initiated at the remote station from the suspended and latent modes to the traffic channel mode, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES I. Description of the System. Referring to the figures, FIGURE 1 represents an exemplary communication system. One such system is the CDMA communication system which complies with the IS-95 standard. Another such system is described in the aforementioned US Patent Application No. 08 / 654,443. The communication system comprises multiple cells 2a-2g. Each cell 2 is served by a corresponding base station 4. Several remote stations 6 are dispersed through the communication system. In the exemplary embodiment, each of the remote stations 6 communicates with zero or more base stations 4 on the outbound link in each traffic or frame channel box. For example, the base station 4a transmits to the remote stations 6a and 6j, the base station 4b transmits to the remote stations 6c and 6j and the remote station 4c transmits to the remote stations 6c and 6h on the outgoing link in the table i . As shown in FIGURE 1, each base station 4 transmits data to zero or more remote stations 6 at any given time. In addition, the data rate may be variable and may depend on the carrier to interference ratio (C / I) measured by the receiving remote station 6 and the required energy ratio per bit to noise (Eb / N0). The return link transmissions from the remote stations 6 to the base stations 4 are not shown in FIGURE 1 for simplicity. A block diagram. illustrating the basic subsystems of an exemplary communication system is shown in FIGURE 2. The controller of the base station 10 interferes with the packet network interface 24, PSTN 30, and all base stations 4 in the communication system (only one base station 4 is shown in FIGURE 2 for simplicity). The controller of the base station 10 coordinates the communication between the remote stations 6 in the communication system and other users connected to the interface of the packet network 24 and the PSTN 30. The PSTN 30 is interconnected with users through the network standard telephone (not shown in FIGURE 2). The controller of the base station 10 contains many selector elements 14, although only one is shown in FIGURE 2 for simplicity. A selector element 14 was assigned to control the communication between one or more base stations 4 and a remote station 6. If the selector element 14 has not been assigned to the remote station 6, the call control processor 16 is informed of the need to page the remote station 6. The call control processor 16 then directs the base station 4 to page the remote station 6. The data source 20 contains the data to be transmitted to the remote station 6. The source data 20 provides the data to the packet network interface 24. The packet network interface 24 receives the data and routes the data to the selector element 14. The selector element 14 sends the data to each base station 4 in communication with the remote station 6. In the exemplary mode, each base station 4 maintains a data queue 40 containing the data to be transmitted to the remote station 6. The data is sent, in data packets. data in the data queue 40 to the channel element 42. In the exemplary mode, in the outbound link, a data packet is referred to as a fixed amount of data to be transmitted to the destination remote station 6 within of a painting. For each data packet, the channel element 42 inserts the necessary control fields. In the exemplary embodiment, the channel element CRC 42 encodes the data packet and the control fields and inserts a set of code tail bits. The data packet, the control fields, the parity bits CRC, and the bits of the code queue comprise a packet with a format. In the exemplary embodiment, the channel element 42 encodes the format packet and interleaves (or reorders) the symbols within the encoded packet. In the exemplary mode, the interleaved packet is mixed with a long PN code, covered with a Walsh cover, and dispersed with the short PNj and PNQ codes. The scattered data is provided to the FR 44 unit which modulates by quadrature, filters and amplifies the signal. The signal of the forward link is transmitted by air through the antenna 46 on the outgoing link 50. At the remote station 6, the outgoing link signal is received by the antenna 60 and routed to a receiver within the end front 62. The receiver filters, amplifies, and demodulates by quadrature and quantizes the signal. The digitized signal is provided to the demodulator (DEMOD) 64 where it is dispersed with the short PNi and PNQ codes, discovered with the Walsh cover, and mixed with the long PN code. The demodulated data is provided to the decoder 66 which performs the inverse of the signal processing functions performed in the base station 4, specifically the desinteralación, decodificación and functions of verification CRC. The decoded data is provided to a data collector 68. The communication system supports data transmissions and messages on the return link. Within remote station 6, the controller 76 processes the transmission of data or messages by routing the data or messages to the encoder 72. In the exemplary embodiment, the encoder 72 formats the message consistent with the blank and burst signaling data format described in the US Pat.

No. 5,504,773 mentioned above. The encoder 72 then generates and appended a set of CRC bits, appends a set of code tail bits, encodes the data and append bits, and reorders the symbols within the encoded data. The interleaved data is provided to the modulator (MOD) 74. The modulator 74 can be implemented in many modes. In the first embodiment, the interleaved data is converted with a Walsh code which identifies the channel assigned to the remote station 6, dispersed with a long PN code, and also scattered with the short PN codes. The scattered data is provided to a transmitter within the front end 62. The transmitter modulates, filters, amplifies and transmits the return link signal over the air, through the antenna 60, on the return link 52. In the second mode, the modulator 74 operates in the same way as the modulator of an exemplary CDMA system which complies with the IS-95 standard, in this embodiment, the modulator 74 maps the bits interspersed in another signal space using the Walsh code map trace. Specifically, the interleaved data is grouped into groups of 6 bits. The six bits are plotted on a map to a corresponding 64-bit Walsh sequence. The modulator 74 then disperses the Walsh sequence with a long PN code and short PN codes. The scattered data is provided to a transmitter within the front end 62 which operates in the manner described above. For both modes, at the base station 4, the signal of the return link is received by the antenna 46 and provided to the FR 44 unit. The FR 44 unit filters, amplifies, demodulates, and quantizes the signal and provides the signal Digitized to each channel element 42. The channel element 42 disperses the digitized signal with the short PN codes and the long PN code. The channel element 42 also performs mapping of the Walsh code or discovery, depending on the processing of the signal performed at the remote station 6. The channel element 42 then reorders the demodulated data, decodes the deinterleaved data, and effects the CRC verification function. The decoded data, for example, the data or messages, are provided to the selector element 14. The selector element 14 sends data and messages to the appropriate destination (for example, the data collector 22). The physical components of computing, as described above, support data transmissions, message sending, voice, video and other communications over a one-way link. Another architecture of physical components can be designed to support variable speed transmissions and are within the scope of the present invention. The scheduler 12 connects all the selector elements 14 within the controller of the base station 10. The scheduler 12 programs the high-speed data transmissions on the round-trip links. Programmer 12 receives the size of the waiting queue, which is indicative of the amount of data to be transmitted and other pertinent information, which is described below. Programmer 12 schedules data transmissions to achieve the goal of the maximum data production system while complying with system restrictions. As shown in FIGURE 1, the remote stations 6 are dispersed through the communication system and can be in communication with zero or more base stations 4. In the exemplary mode, the scheduler 12 coordinates the high-speed data transmissions of round-trip links over the entire communication system. A method and a programming apparatus for high-speed data transmission are described in detail in U.S. Patent Application No. 08 / 798,951, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROGRAMMING THE SPEED OF THE LINE OF IDA", presented on February 11, 1997, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.

II. One-Way Link Channels In the exemplary mode, the one-way link comprises the following physical channels: pilot channel, synchronization channel, paging channel, fundamental channel, supplementary channel, and control channel. The physical channels of the forward link facilitate transmissions of a variety of logical channels. In exemplary mode, the logical channel of the forward link comprises: physical layer control, media access control (MAC), user traffic flow and signaling. A diagram illustrating the relationship between the physical and logical channels on the forward link is shown in FIGURE 3. The logical channels of the forward link are better described later.

III. One Way Pilot In the exemplary mode, the one way pilot channel comprises an unmodulated signal which is used by the remote stations 6 for synchronization and demodulation. In exemplary mode, the pilot channels are transmitted at all times by the base station 4.

IV. One-Way Synchronization Channel In the exemplary mode, the one-way sync channel is used to transmit system timing information to the remote stations 6 for initial time synchronization. In exemplary mode, the synchronization channel is also used to inform the remote station 6 of data synchronization of the paging channel. In exemplary mode, the structure of the synchronization channel may be similar to that of the IS-95 system.

V. Measured Paging Channel In an exemplary mode, the outbound paging channel is used to transmit system air information and specific messages to remote stations 6. In the exemplary mode, the structure of the paging channel may be similar to that of the paging channel. of the IS-95 system. In the exemplary embodiment, the paging channel supports slot mode paging and non-slot mode paging as described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 5,392,287, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REDUCING POWER CONSUMPTION IN A COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVER MOBILE ", issued February 21, 1995, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.

SAW . One-way fundamental channel In the exemplary mode, the one-way traffic channels are used to transmit voice, data and signaling message from the base stations 4 to the remote stations 6 during a communication. In exemplary mode, outbound traffic channels comprise fundamental channels and supplementary channels. The supplementary channels can be used to transmit voice traffic, data traffic, signaling traffic, physical layer control message, and MAC information as shown in FIGURE 3. In exemplary mode, only supplementary channels are used for transmit data at high speed. In exemplary mode, the fundamental channel is a variable rate channel that can be used in one of two modes: dedicated mode and shared mode. In dedicated mode, the fundamental channel is used to transmit voice traffic, data traffic IS-707, high-speed data traffic and signaling traffic. In the exemplary mode in the dedicated mode, the signaling information via a burst and burst or white and burst format as described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 5,504,773. Alternatively, if the remote station 6 does not have an active circuit switched service (eg voice or fax), the fundamental channel can operate in the shared mode. In the shared mode, the fundamental channel is shared between a group of remote stations 6 and the channel for the outbound control is used to indicate the remote station 6 when demodulating the assigned fundamental channel. Shared mode increases the capacity of the outbound link. When circuit switched voice or data service is active, using a dedicated fundamental channel is inefficient because the fundamental channel is being used by intermittent packet data services and signaling traffic. For example, the fundamental channel can be used to transmit TCP recognition. To minimize the transmission delay in the release of data traffic signaling messages, the fundamental channel transmission rate is not significantly reduced. Several underutilized fundamental channels can adversely affect the operation of the system (for example, cause the reduction in data speed of high-speed users). In exemplary mode, the use of the fundamental channel in the mode shared by a particular remote station 6 is indicated by a flag bit sent over the outbound control channel. This indicator bit is set by all remote stations 6 in the group when a transmission message is sent over the shared signaling channel. Otherwise, this indicator bit is set only by the particular remote station 6 for which a traffic channel frame is transmitted on the next frame.

VII. One-way supplementary channel In exemplary mode, the supplementary channel is used to support high-speed data services. In exemplary mode, the supplementary channel frame can be transmitted using one of the plurality of data rates and the data rate used on the supplementary channel is transmitted to the receiving remote station 6 by signaling (eg, link program ida) in the control channel. Thus, the data rate of a supplementary channel does not need to be determined dynamically by the receiving remote station 6. In the exemplary mode, Walsh codes are used for the supplementary channel communicated to the remote station 6 way, the channel of the logical signaling which is transmitted on the fundamental one-way channel.

VIII. Anchor Control Channel In exemplary mode, the control channel is a fixed speed channel associated with each remote station 6. In exemplary mode, the control channel is used to transmit power control information to the short control message for the round trip program (see FIGURE 3). The scheduling information includes the data rate and the duration of the transmission that have been allocated for the supplementary roundtrip channels. The use of the fundamental channel can be regulated by the signaling channel frames that are transmitted on the control channel. In the exemplary mode, the allocation of the frames of the logical signaling channel is effected by a bit indicator within the control channel frame. The fundamental indicator bit of the process informs the remote station 6 when there is information directed to the remote station 6 on the fundamental channel in the following table. The control channel is also used to transmit power control bits back. The return power control bits direct the remote station 6 to increase or decrease its transmission power, so that the operating level is maintained (eg, measured by the frame error rate) while being minimized interference with neighboring remote stations 6. An exemplary method and apparatus for effecting power control of the return link is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 5,056,109, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE TRANSMISSION POWER IN A CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONE SYSTEM ", granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. In the exemplary mode, the return power control bits are transmitted on the control channel every 1.25 milliseconds. To increase the capacity and minimize the interference, the control channel frames are transmitted over the control channel only if control programming information is available for the remote station 6. Otherwise, they are only transmitted in the power control over the control channel. In exemplary mode, the control channel is supported by the flexible transfer to increase the reliability for the reception of the control channel. In the exemplary mode; The control channel is placed inside and outside the flexible transfer in the manner specified by the IS-95 standard. In exemplary mode, to issue the programming process for the round-trip links, the control blocks are each one quarter of the traffic channel box, and the traffic channel is 5 milliseconds per 20 milliseconds.

IX. Structure of the Control Channel Chart. The exemplary control channel box formats for round-trip link programs are shown in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively. Separate programming control channel boxes, one for the forward link and the other for the return link, allow independent programming of the forward and the return channels. In the exemplary mode, as shown in Table 1, the format of the control channel table for the outbound link program comprises the type of frame, the assigned one-way link speed, the duration of the one-way link rate assignment . The box type indicates whether the control channel box is for the outbound link program, and the backward link program, the active supplementary channel set, or the suppress indicator bit (EIB) and the box indicator fundamental. Each of those formats' of the control channel picture is discussed later. The forward link speed indicates the data rate assigned for incoming data transmission and the duration field indicates the duration of the speed assignment. The exemplary number of bits per field indicated in Table 1, although different numbers of bits may be used and are within the scope of the present invention.

Table 1 In the exemplary mode, as shown in Table 2, the format in the control channel table for the return link program comprises the type of frame, the speed of the return link granted, the duration of the speed allocation of the return link. The speed of the return link indicates the data rate that has been granted to the incoming data transmission. The duration field indicates the duration of the speed assignment for each of the carriers. Table 2 (CONTINUED TABLE 2) In exemplary mode, base station 4 can receive reports from remote station 6 indicating the identity of a stronger pilot within the active set of remote station 6 and all other pilots in the active set that are received within a level of predetermined power (? p) of the strongest pilot. This is discussed in more detail later. In response to this power measurement report, the base station 4 can send a frame to the control channel on the control channel to identify a modified set of channels from which the remote station 6 will receive supplementary channels. In the exemplary embodiment, the code channels corresponding to the supplementary channels for all the members of the active set are transmitted at the remote station 6 via signaling messages. The format of the exemplary control channel box that is used by the base station 4 to identify the new set of base stations 4 from which the frames of the supplementary channel are transmitted as shown in Table 3. In the exemplary embodiment, this The control channel table comprises the type of table and the supplementary active set. In exemplary mode, the supplementary active fixed field is a bitmap field. In the exemplary embodiment, a one in position i of this field indicates that the supplementary channel is transmitted from the 10th base station 4 in the active set. Table 3 The format of the exemplary control channel box used to transmit the indicator bit of the fundamental channel of the process and the EIBs are shown in Table 4. In exemplary mode, this control channel table comprises the type of frame, the EIBs of the fundamental and supplementary channel, and the fundamental channel bit of the process. The fundamental EIB indicates whether a frame of the back-channel back-link previously received was deleted or deleted. Similarly, the supplementary EIB indicates whether a supplementary channel frame of the previously received return link was deleted or deleted. The fundamental channel bit of the process (or the indicator bit) informs the remote station 6 to demodulate the fundamental channel for the information. Table 4 X. Return Link Channels In the exemplary mode, the return channel comprises the following physical channels: access channel, pilot / control channel, fundamental channel, and supplementary channel. In the exemplary mode, the physical channels of the return link facilitate the transmissions of a variation of logical channels, the logical channels of the return link comprise: MAC physical layer control, user traffic flow and signaling. A diagram illustrating the relationship between the physical and logical channels on the return link is shown in FIGURE 4. The logical channels of the return link are better described later.

XII. Return Access Channel In the exemplary mode, the access channel is used by the remote stations 6 to send origin messages to the base station 4 to request a fundamental channel. The access channel is also used by the remote station 6 to respond to paging messages. In the exemplary model, the structure of the access channel may be similar to that of the 'IS-95 system.

XII. Fundamental Return Channel In exemplary mode, return traffic channels are used to transmit voice, data and signaling messages from remote stations 6 to base stations 4 during a communication. In the exemplary mode, the return traffic channels comprise fundamental channels and supplementary channels. The fundamental channels can be used to transmit voice traffic, IS-707 data traffic, and signaling traffic. In the exemplary mode, the supplementary channels are used only to transmit data at high speed. In the exemplary mode, the frame structure of the fundamental back channel is similar to that of the IS-95 system. Therefore, the data rate of the fundamental channel may vary dynamically and a determination mechanism is used to demodulate the signal received at the base station 4. An exemplary rate determination mechanism is described in copending US Patent Application No. of Series 08 / 233,570, entitled "METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING VELOCITY OF DATA DATA TRANSMITTED AT VARIABLE SPEED IN A COMMUNICATION RECEIVER", filed on April 26, 1994, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. Another speed determining mechanism is further described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 730,863, entitled "METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING AT SPEED-DATA RECEIVED IN A VARIABLE SPEED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM", filed in October 18, 1996, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. In the exemplary embodiment, the signaling information is transmitted over the fundamental channel using the attenuation and burst and white and burst formats as described in the aforementioned US Patent No. 5,504,773.

XIII. Supplementary Return Channel In exemplary mode, the supplementary channel is used to support high-speed data services. In exemplary mode, the supplementary channel supports a plurality of data rates but the data rate does not change dynamically during a transmission. In the exemplary mode, the data rate on the supplementary channel is requested by the. remote station 6 and granted by the base station 4.

XIV. Pilot / Return Control Channel In the exemplary mode, the pilot and control information on the return channel is multiplexed by time over the pilot / control channel. In exemplary mode, the control information comprises control of the physical layer and MAC. In exemplary mode, the control of the physical layer comprises the suppress indicator bit (EIB) for the fundamental and supplementary forward channels, the forward power control bits, the power levels? from cells, and the levels _ of power between carriers. In the exemplary embodiment, the MAC comprises the size of the queue that is indicative of the amount of information to be transmitted by the remote station 6 over the return link and the current power space of the remote station 6. In the exemplary mode, two EIB bits are used to support the fundamental and supplementary one-way channels. In exemplary mode, each EIB bit indicates a deleted frame received two frames before the respective forward traffic channel for which the EIB bit was assigned. The discussion on the implementation and use of the EIB transmission is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,568,483, entitled "METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FORMATING DATA FOR TRANSMISSION", granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. In the exemplary embodiment, the outgoing fundamental and / or supplemental channel can be transmitted from the "best" set of stations 4. This takes advantage of the diversity of space that can potentially result in less power required for transmission over the channels of one way traffic. The power levels? between cells are transmitted by the remote station 6 on the pilot / control channel to indicate to the base stations 4 the difference in the power levels received from the base stations 4 observed by the remote station 6. The base stations 4 use this information to determine the "best" set of base stations 4 for the purpose of transmitting the fundamental and supplementary one way channels. In the exemplary mode, the power levels? between cells identify the pilot of the active set of the remote station 6 with the highest energy ratio per chip to interference (Ec / Io) and all the pilots in the active set whose Ec / Io is within a predetermined power level (? P ) of the pilot with the highest Ec / Io. An exemplary method and apparatus for measuring the level of pilot power is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 722,763, entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING LINK QUALITY IN AN EXTENDED SPECTRUM COMMUNICATION SYSTEM" , filed on September 27, 1996, granted to the beneficiary of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. In exemplary mode, three bits were used to specify the pilot index (or the particular base station 4) with the highest Ec / Io in the active set. In exemplary mode, the number of pilots within an active set is limited to six. In this way, a bitmap field or length of five can be used to identify all pilots whose Ec / Io is within the pilot's strongest P. For example, a "one" may indicate that the pilot assigned to the particular bit position is within "P" of the strongest pilot and a "zero" may indicate that the pilot is not inside the pilot's strongest P. Therefore, a total of eight bits are used for the power levels? between cells. This is indicated in Table 3.

Table 5 Table 5 (continued) An exemplary illustration of the use of power levels? between cells to control the forward supplementary channel transmission is shown in FIGURES 5A and 5B. Initially, in FIGURE 5A, the base station A transmits the fundamental and supplementary channels, the base station B transmits the fundamental channel, and the base station C transmits the fundamental channel. The remote station 6 measures the power of the forward link and determines that the power level received from the base station C is greater than the power level received from the base station A. The remote station 6 transmits the power levels? between cells to the base stations indicating this condition. The forward supplementary channel transmission is then changed from the base station A to the base station C in response to this, as shown in FIGURE 5B. In the exemplary embodiment, the power levels between, carriers are used to report the power received on each of the carriers. In the multi-carrier environment, different carriers can vanish independently and it is possible for one or more of the carriers to experience a deep fading while the remaining carriers are received significantly more strongly. In the exemplary embodiment, the remote station 6 can indicate the strength of the carriers using the power levels in the carrier. An exemplary diagram of the spectrum of received multiple carrier signal is shown in FIGURE 6. It can be noted from FIGURE 6 that carrier C is received weaker than carriers A and B. In the exemplary embodiment, all three carriers are controlled by power together ^ by the forward power control bits. The base stations 4 can use the power levels between carriers to assign different speeds to each of the carriers. Alternatively, the base stations 4 can use the power levels between carriers of the remote station 6 to increase the transmission gain for the weaker carrier, so that all the carriers are received at the same power ratio per bit of power. interference (Ec / Io) • In the exemplary mode, a maximum of 16 speeds for the return link require programming. Thus, 16 quantization levels are sufficient to specify the power space of the remote station 6. The maximum speed of the return link can be expressed as: Space _ Play it Max Speed Possible = Speed Return Current +, (1) K Eh_Required j where Eb_Required is the energy per bit required by remote station 6 to transmit over the return link. From equation (1) and assuming that 4 bits are used by the base station 4 to indicate the granted speed, a one-to-one relationship is possible between the Max_Possible_Max and the PowerSpace if 4 bits are assigned to the power space parameter. In exemplary mode, up to three carriers are supported. In this way, the power levels between carriers comprise 12 bits to identify the strength of each of the three carriers (4 bits per carrier). Once the base station 4 determines the granted speed, the duration of the return link speed allocation can be calculated using the queue size information of the remote station 6 through the following relationship: Ta year_File Wait = Duration of a? Signation »Speed_ Return. (2) Therefore, the granularity of the size of the queue should be the same as the granularity that the base station 4 uses to specify the duration of the speed allocation (for example, 4 bits). The previous discussion assumes a maximum of 16 speeds which require programming and a maximum of three carriers. Different numbers of bits may be used to support different numbers of carriers and speeds and be within the scope of the present invention.

XV Timing and Programming As stated above, the control information is multiplexed by time with the pilot data. In the exemplary embodiment, the control information is dispersed within a frame so that continuous transmission occurs. In the exemplary mode, each frame is further divided into four equal control frames. In this way, for a frame of 20 milliseconds, each control box is of 5 milliseconds in duration. The distribution of a one-way channel box into a different number of control panels and be within the scope of the present invention can be envisaged. A diagram of an exemplary return link pilot / control channel box format is shown in FIGURE 7A. In the exemplary mode, the power levels? between cells 112 are transmitted in the first control frame of a frame, power levels between bearers 114 are transmitted in the second control frame, bits EIB 116 are transmitted in the third control frame, and the velocity request of return link (link request RL) 118 is transmitted in the fourth control box. An exemplary timing diagram illustrating high-speed data transmission over the return link is shown in FIGURE 7B. The remote station 6 transmits the speed request RL in the fourth control box of the frame ia the base station 4, in the block 212. In the exemplary mode, the speed request RL comprises the size of the waiting queue of 4 bits and the 4-bit power space as described above. The channel element 42 receives the request and sends the request, together with the Eb / N0 required by the remote station 6, to the programmer 12 within the first control frame of the frame i + 1, in block 214. Programmer 12 receives the request in the third control box of the table i + 1, in block 216, and program the request. Programmer 12 sends the program to channel element 42 in. the first frame of control of frame i + 2, in block 218. Channel element 42 receives the program in the third frame of control of frame i + 2, in block 220. The control frame of the forward link that contains the program of the return link is transmitted to the remote station 6 in the third control box of the table i + 2, in block 222. The remote station 6 receives the program of the return link within the fourth table control box i + 2, in block 224, and starts transmitting at the speed programmed in frame i + 3, in block 226. Base station 4 uses the power levels? between cells, which are transmitted in the first control box by the remote station 6, to select the base stations 4 from which the supplementary channel is transmitted. An exemplary timing diagram that illustrates the use of power levels? between cells is shown in FIGURE 7C.

Remote station 6 transmits the power levels? between cells in the first frame of control of frame i to base station 4 in block 242. Channel element 42 receives the power levels? between cells and sends the information to the controller of the base station (BSC) 10 in the second control panel of the table i, in block 244. The controller of the base station 10 receives the information in the fourth control box of the table i , in block 246. The controller of the base station 10 then determines the new active set of the supplementary channel in the first control frame of the frame i + 1, in block 248. Channel element 42 receives the channel box control of the forward link containing the new supplementary active set and transmitting is on the control channel of the outgoing link in the third control panel of the i + 1 box, in block 250. Remote station 6 ends decoding the box of the control channel of the outbound link, within the fourth control box of the table i + 1, in block 252. Remote station 6 starts by demodulating the new supplementary channel in frame i + 2, in block 254. Base station 4 uses the power level between carriers, which. it is transmitted in the second control box by the remote station 6, assigning the speeds to each of the carriers to support the remote station 6. An exemplary timing diagram illustrating the use of the power levels between carriers is shown in FIGURE 7D. The remote station 6 transmits the power levels between carriers in the second control box of the frame ia the base station 4, in block 262. The channel element 42 decodes the frame in the third control frame of frame i, in the block 264. The base station 4 receives the power levels between carriers and assigns speeds to each of the carriers in the fourth control panel of panel i, in block 266. In the exemplary embodiment, the power levels between carriers are not They are routed through the return trip. Therefore, the appropriate action can take effect in the next frame after receiving the power levels between carriers. The frame of the control channel of the outgoing link containing the speeds of each of the carriers is transmitted in the first control panel of the frame i + 1, in block 268. Remote station 6 finishes decoding the channel frame control of the outgoing link in the second control panel in the table i + 1, in the block 270. The remote station 6 starts the demodulation according to the new speeds for the carriers in the table i + 2, in the block 272. In the exemplary embodiment, the EIB bits are transmitted in the third control box over the pilot / control channel to indicate a suppressed frame received in the fundamental channels, and supplementary by the remote station 6. In the exemplary mode, the EIB bits can be used by high-speed data services such as a layer 2 (ACK) or negative recognition (NACK) recognition instead of the NACK radio link protocol (RLP) frames defined by the standard IS-707 entitled "TIA / EIA / IS-707 DATA SERVICE OPTIONS FOR BROADBAND EXTENDED SPECTRUM SYSTEMS". The EIB bits of the present mode are shorter and have fewer processing delays than the NACK RLP frames. An exemplary timing diagram illustrating the transmission of EIB bits is shown in Figure 7E. The remote station 6 receives data on the traffic channel on the forward link in frame i-2, block 282. Remote station 6 ends the decoding of frame i-2 and determines whether the data frame was deleted or not in the first control frame of frame i, in block 284. The EIB bits indicative of the condition of the data frames received in frame i-2 over the forward traffic channel are transmitted by remote station 6 in the third frame of control of frame i, in block 286. The frame format of the pilot / return link control channel as described above is an exemplary format that minimizes processing delays for the process used by the information contained in the pilot / control channel box. For some communication systems, some of the information described above is not applicable or required. For example, a communication system that operates with a carrier does not require power levels between carriers. For other communication systems, additional information is used to implement various system functions. Thus, the control / control channel frame formats that contain different information and use different information commands can be contemplated and be within the scope of the present invention.

XVI. Remote Station Operating Modes In the exemplary mode, to fully utilize the capacity of the available round-trip link, traffic channels are released during periods of inactivity. In exemplary mode, remote station 6 operates in one of three modes: traffic channel mode, suspended mode and latent mode. The transition in and out of each mode depends on the length of the period of inactivity. An exemplary timing diagram showing the transitions to the suspended and latent modes is shown in Figure 8A and an exemplary state diagram showing the transitions between the different modes of operation is shown in Figure 8B. The traffic (or activity) in the outbound and / or return traffic channels is represented by the remote station 6 being in the traffic channel mode 312a, 312b and 312c in Figure 8A and the traffic channel mode 312 in Figure 8B. The period of inactivity, denoted as Tesocupa or is the duration time from the end of the last transmission of data. In the exemplary embodiment, if the period of inactivity exceeds a predetermined first unoccupied period Ts, the remote station 6 is placed in the suspended mode 314. Once in the suspended mode 314, if the period of inactivity exceeds a second predetermined unoccupied period Td , where Td > Ts, the remote station 6 is placed in the latent mode 316. In either the suspended mode 314 or the latent mode 316, if the base station 4 or the remote station 6 has data to communicate, the remote station 6 can be assigned a channel traffic and bring it back to traffic channel mode 312 (as shown in Figure 8B). In the exemplary embodiment, Ts is selected to be approximately one second and Td is selected to be approximately 60 seconds, although other values for Ts and Td may be selected and are within the scope of the present invention.

XVII. Suspended Mode of the Remote Station The remote station 6 enters the suspended mode after the period of inactivity exceeds a predetermined first unoccupied period Ts. In the exemplary mode, in the suspended mode, the traffic channel is released, but the status information is retained by both of the remote station 6 and the base station 4, so that the remote station 6 can be brought back into the mode of traffic channel in a short period of time. In the exemplary mode, the status information that is stored in the suspended mode comprises the RLP state, the traffic channel configuration, the encryption variables, and the authentication variables. That status information is defined by the IS-95 and IS-707 standards. The traffic channel configuration can comprise the service configuration, the connected service options and their characteristics, and the power control parameters.

Since the status information is stored, the remote station 6 can be brought back into the traffic channel mode and assigned a traffic channel after receiving a channel assignment message. In the exemplary mode, although in the suspended mode, the remote station 6 continues to check the paging channel in the non-slotted mode and processes the air messages that are transmitted to all remote stations 6 on the paging channel. The remote station 6 can send location update messages to the base station 4 to inform the controller of the current location base station 10. An exemplary diagram showing a scenario where the remote station 6k, operating in the suspended mode, sends a location update message after detecting a new pilot as shown in Figure 8C. The remote station 6k receives the pilots of the base stations 4i and 4j and the new pilot of the base station 4k. The remote station 6k then transmits a location update message on the return link that is received by the base stations 4i, 4j and 4k. The remote station 6k can also send a suspended location update message if the pilot of one of the base stations 4 falls below a predetermined threshold. In exemplary mode, the suspended location update message is transmitted over the access channel. In the exemplary embodiment, the location update messages are routed to the controllers of the base station 10 by the base stations 4. In this way, the controller of the base station 10 is constantly aware of the location of the remote station 6 and it can compose a channel assignment message and bring the remote station 6 to the traffic channel mode in the flexible transfer mode.

XVIII. Latent Mode of the Remote Station In the exemplary mode, the remote station 6 checks the paging channel in the slotted mode and at the same time in the latent mode to conserve battery power. In the exemplary mode, the latent mode is similar to that defined by the IS-707 standard. In exemplary mode, no calls related to the status information are held by the base station 4 or the remote station 6 in the latent mode and only the point-to-point protocol (PPP) state is maintained by the remote station 6 and the base station 4. As a result, the remote station 6 and the base station 4 travel through the call set-up process (which comprises the page, page response and channel assignment) before the station Remote 6 is assigned a traffic channel and switch back to traffic channel mode.

XIX Transition to Traffic Channel Mode. In the exemplary embodiment, the transitions from the remote station 6 from the suspended or latent mode to the traffic channel mode can be initiated by either the base station 4 or the remote station 6. In the exemplary diagrams that illustrate the protocol for the transitions initiated by a base station of the suspended and latent modes to the traffic channel mode are shown in Figures 9A and 9B, respectively. The base station 4 starts the process if it has data to be reported to the remote station 6. If the remote station 6 is in the suspended mode (see Figure 9A), the base station 4 transmits a channel assignment message on the channel Paging and data transmission may occur briefly afterwards. If the remote station 6 is in the latent mode (see Figure 9B), the base station 4 first transmits a paging message on the paging channel. The remote station 6 receives the paging message and transmits a page response message in acknowledgment. The base station 4 then transmits the channel assignment message. After a series of service negotiation messages, call set-up is completed and data transmission may occur later. As shown in Figures 9A and 9B, the transition from the suspended mode to the traffic channel mode is faster than the transition from the latent mode to the traffic channel mode because the state of the call is maintained by both of the remote station 6 and the base station 4. The exemplary diagram illustrating the protocol for the transitions initiated by the remote station from the suspended and latent modes to the traffic channel mode are shown in Figures 9C and 9D, respectively. The remote station 6 starts the process if it has data to communicate to the base station 4. If the remote station 6 is in the suspended mode (see Figure 9C), the remote station 6 transmits a reconnect message to the base station 4. The base station 4 then transmits a channel assignment message and the data transmission may occur briefly thereafter. If the remote station 6 is in the dormant mode (see Figure 9D), the remote station 6 first transmits a source message to the base station 4. The base station 4 then transmits the channel assignment message.

After a series of service negotiation messages, call set-up is completed, then data transmission may occur. In the present invention it has been described by a number of physical channels which facilitate communication with the plurality of logical channels described above. Other physical channels may also be used to implement additional functions that may be required for the communication system where channels are used. In addition, the physical channels described above can be multiplexed and / or combined, so that the required functions of those different combinations of the physical channels can be performed within the scope of the present invention. The above description of the preferred embodiments was provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. The different modifications to those modalities will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art., and the generic principles defined here can be applied to other modalities without the use of an inventive faculty. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the modalities shown here - but in accordance with the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features described herein. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (41)

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. A channel structure for communication systems, characterized in that it comprises: at least one fundamental channel for transmitting traffic data, voice data and signaling; a supplementary channel for transmitting traffic data; and a paging channel to transmit paging messages.

2. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the fundamental channel is supported by a flexible transfer.

3. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the fundamental channel is assigned a duration of a communication.

The channel structure according to claim 3, characterized in that the fundamental channel is released by a remote station if a period of inactivity of the remote station exceeds a first predetermined threshold.

The channel structure according to claim 4, characterized in that a state of the communication is maintained if the period of inactivity of the remote station exceeds the first predetermined threshold.

The channel structure according to claim 5, characterized in that the state of the communication is not maintained if the period of inactivity of the remote station exceeds a second predetermined threshold.

The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the supplementary channel is assigned to a remote station for high-speed data transmission.

The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the supplementary channel is capable of transmitting data of a plurality of data rates.

The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the supplementary channel is not supported by the flexible transfer.

10. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the supplementary channel is transmitted from a better base station within an active set of a remote station.

The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the supplementary channel transmits at a fixed data rate for a duration of a transmission.

The channel structure according to claim 11, characterized in that the fixed data rate is assigned in accordance with a quantity of data to be transmitted.

The channel structure according to claim 11, characterized in that the fixed data rate is assigned in accordance with a power space of a transmission source.

The channel structure according to claim 11, characterized in that the fixed data rate is assigned according to an energy per bit required for transmission.

15. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the fundamental channel and the supplementary channel are capable of concurrent transmissions.

16. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: a pilot / control channel for transmitting pilot and control messages.

17. The channel structure according to claim 16, characterized in that the control messages are transmitted on the control boxes and where each of the control boxes is a fraction of a traffic channel frame.

18. The channel structure according to claim 16, characterized in that the control messages comprise a data request of the return link.

19. The channel structure according to claim 18, characterized in that the data request of the return link comprises an indication of a quantity of data to be transmitted.

20. The channel structure according to claim 18, characterized in that the data request of the return link comprises an indication of a power space.

21. The channel structure according to claim 16, characterized in that the control messages comprise power levels? of multiple cells indicative of the power levels received from the pilots in an active set of a remote station.

22. The channel structure according to claim 16, characterized in that the control messages comprise multiple carrier power levels indicative of the power levels received from the bearers in an active set of a remote station.

The channel structure according to claim 16, characterized in that the control messages comprise deletion indicating bits indicative of a deletion state of the previously received data frames.

24. The channel structure according to claim 21, characterized in that the supplementary channel is transmitted from a selected base station according to the power levels? of multiple cells.

25. The channel structure according to claim 21, characterized in that the power levels? of multiple cells are transmitted within a first control frame of a traffic channel frame.

26. The channel structure according to claim 22, characterized in that the power levels of multiple carriers are transmitted within a second control box of a traffic channel frame.

27. The channel structure according to claim 23, characterized in that the suppression indicator bits are transmitted within a third control frame of a traffic channel frame.

28. The channel structure according to claim 18, characterized in that the data request of the return link is transmitted within a fourth control box of a traffic channel frame.

29. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: a control channel for transmitting programming and signaling information.

30. The channel structure according to claim 29, characterized in that the programming information comprises an assigned data rate.

31 The channel structure according to claim 29, characterized in that the programming information comprises a duration of an assigned transmission.

32. The channel structure according to claim 29, characterized in that the signaling comprises deletion indicating bits indicative of a deletion state of the previously received data frames.

33. The channel structure according to claim 29, characterized in that the signaling information comprises an indicator bit indicative of whether a message is present on the fundamental channel for a remote station.

34. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the paging channel is received in a non-slotted mode by a remote station if a period of inactivity of the remote station exceeds a first predetermined threshold.

35. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the paging channels are received in a slotted mode by a remote station without a period of inactivity for the remote station exceeds a second predetermined threshold.

36. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: a pilot channel for transmitting a pilot.

37. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: transmitting system timing information.

38. The channel structure according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: an access channel for transmitting source messages and paging response messages.

39. A transmission device for a communication system, the device is characterized in that it comprises a transmitter for: transmitting in at least one fundamental channel traffic data, voice data and signaling; transmit traffic data in a supplementary channel; and transmit paging messages in a paging channel. '

40. A receiving device for communication systems, the device is characterized in that it comprises a receiver for: receiving traffic data, voice and signaling data transmitted on at least one fundamental channel; receive traffic data transmitted in a supplementary channel; and receive paging messages transmitted in a paging channel. A channel structure to be used in communication systems.

41. A communication system, characterized in that it comprises two sets of physical channels, one for the forward link and another for the return link, physical channels which are used to facilitate the communication of a variety of logical channels.