Method and system for providing differentiated quality of service diversity ALOHA

1. A method for providing access in a communications system, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of bursts, wherein one of the bursts is a duplicate of another one of the bursts;

transmitting the duplicate bursts over a contention channel according to a pre-determined quality-of-service (QoS) designation; and

selectively including in each of the duplicate bursts information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of duplicate bursts.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the transmitting step is performed according to a diversity ALOHA protocol.

3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the QoS designation includes a first level of service and a second level of service, the first level of service specifying a greater number of transmissions of the duplicate bursts than the second level of service.

4. A method according to claim 3 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

5. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising: including in each of the duplicate bursts information identifying corresponding data within each burst.

6. A method according to claim 5 , wherein the identifying information in the including step specifies identifier information of a source terminal.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the order information in the including step specifies a modulo N sequence number.

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the communications system includes a satellite network supporting communication among a plurality of terminals and a hub station, each of the plurality of terminals being configured to transmit over the contention channel.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

10. A network device for providing access in a communications system, the network device comprising:

logic configured to determine a service level associated with transmission of a burst; and

a transceiver configured to transmit multiple copies of the burst over a contention channel according to the service level,

wherein each of the bursts includes information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of bursts.

11. A network device according to claim 10 , wherein the bursts are transmitted according to a diversity ALOHA protocol.

12. A network device according to claim 11 , wherein the service level is selected from a plurality of service levels, one of the service levels specifying at least one of a greater number of transmissions of the bursts than another one of the service levels.

13. A network device according to claim 12 , wherein the one service level specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the other service level specifies one of two slots and one slot.

14. A network device according to claim 10 , wherein each of the bursts includes information identifying corresponding data within each of the bursts.

15. A network device according to claim 14 , wherein the identifying information specifies identifier information of the network device.

16. A network device according to claim 10 wherein the order information specifies a modulo N sequence number.

17. A network device according to claim 10 , wherein the communications system includes a satellite network.

18. A network device according to claim 10 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

19. A system for providing access in a communications system, the system comprising:

means for generating a plurality of bursts, wherein one of the bursts is a duplicate of another one of the bursts; and

means for transmitting the duplicate bursts over a contention channel according to a pre-determined quality-of-service (QoS) designation,

wherein each of the duplicate bursts includes information specifying order of the duplicate bursts relative to another set of duplicate bursts.

20. A system according to claim 19 , wherein the duplicate bursts are transmitted according to a diversity ALOHA protocol.

21. A system according to claim 20 , wherein the QoS designation includes a first level of service and a second level of service, the first level of service specifying a greater number of transmissions of the duplicate bursts than the second level of service.

22. A system according to claim 21 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

23. A system according to claim 19 , wherein each of the duplicate bursts includes information identifying corresponding data within each of the duplicate bursts.

24. A system according to claim 23 , wherein the identifying information specifies identifier information of the system.

25. A system according to claim 19 , wherein the order information specifies a modulo N sequence number.

26. A system according to claim 19 , wherein the communications system includes a satellite network.

27. A system according to claim 19 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

28. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for providing access in a communications system, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

generating a plurality of bursts, wherein one of the bursts is a duplicate of another one of the bursts;

transmitting the duplicate bursts over a contention channel according to a pre-determined quality-of-service (QoS) designation; and

selectively including in each of the duplicate bursts information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of duplicate bursts.

29. A computer-readable medium according to claim 28 , wherein the transmitting step is performed according to a diversity ALOHA protocol.

30. A computer-readable medium according to claim 29 , wherein the QoS designation includes a first level of service and a second level of service, the first level of service specifying a greater number of transmissions of the duplicate bursts than the second level of service.

31. A computer-readable medium according to claim 30 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

32. A computer-readable medium according to claim 28 , wherein the one or more processors further perform the step of:

including in each of the duplicate bursts information identifying corresponding data within each burst.

33. A computer-readable medium according to claim 32 , wherein the identifying information in the including step specifies identifier information of a source terminal.

34. A computer-readable medium according to claim 28 , wherein the order information in the including step specifies a modulo N sequence number.

35. A computer-readable medium according to claim 28 , wherein the communications system includes a satellite network supporting communication among a plurality of terminals and a hub station, each of the plurality of terminals being configured to transmit over the contention channel.

36. A computer-readable medium according to claim 28 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

37. A method for providing access to a contention channel for a plurality of terminals in a communications system, the method comprising:

specifying a plurality of service levels for the plurality of terminals; and

executing a communication protocol to provide the contention channel, wherein one of the plurality of terminals concurrently transmits a plurality of bursts according to the corresponding service level, and one of the bursts is a duplicate of another one of the bursts,

wherein each of the bursts includes information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of bursts.

38. A method according to claim 37 , wherein the communication protocol in the executing step is a diversity ALOHA protocol.

39. A method according to claim 38 , wherein one of the service levels specifies at least one of a greater number of transmissions of the bursts than another one of the service levels.

40. A method according to claim 39 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

41. A method according to claim 37 , wherein each of the bursts includes information identifying corresponding data within each of the bursts.

42. A method according to claim 41 , wherein the identifying information specifies identifier information of the one terminal.

43. A method according to claim 37 , wherein the order information specifies a modulo N sequence number.

44. A method according to claim 37 , wherein the communications system includes a satellite network.

45. A method according to claim 37 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

46. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for providing access to a contention channel for a plurality of terminals in a communications system, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

specifying a plurality of service levels for the plurality of terminals; and

executing a communication protocol to provide the contention channel, wherein one of the plurality of terminals concurrently transmits a plurality of bursts according to the corresponding service level, and one of the bursts is a duplicate of another one of the bursts,

wherein each of the bursts includes information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of bursts.

47. A computer-readable medium according to claim 46 , wherein the communication protocol in the executing step is a diversity ALOHA protocol.

48. A computer-readable medium according to claim 47 , wherein one of the service levels specifies a greater number of transmissions of the bursts than another one of the service levels.

49. A computer-readable medium according to claim 48 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

50. A computer-readable medium according to claim 46 , wherein each of the bursts includes information identifying corresponding data within each of the bursts.

51. A computer-readable medium according to claim 50 , wherein the identifying information specifies identifier information of the one terminal.

52. A computer-readable medium according to claim 46 , wherein the order information specifies a modulo N sequence number.

53. A computer-readable medium according to claim 46 , wherein the communications system includes a satellite network.

54. A computer-readable medium according to claim 46 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

55. A method for communicating over a shared medium, the method comprising: receiving one or more bursts over a contention channel of the shared medium from a

terminal, wherein the bursts are duplicates, the quantity of bursts being dependent on a pre-determined quality-of-service (QoS) designation associated with the terminal; and selectively discarding all but one of the bursts,

wherein each of the duplicate bursts in the receiving step includes information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of duplicate bursts.

56. A method according to claim 55 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a diversity ALOHA protocol.

57. A method according to claim 56 , wherein the QoS designation includes a first level of service and a second level of service, the first level of service specifying a greater number of transmissions of the duplicate bursts than the second level of service.

58. A method according to claim 57 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

59. A method according to claim 55 , wherein each of the duplicate bursts in the receiving step includes information identifying corresponding data within each burst.

60. A method according to claim 59 , wherein the identifying information specifies identifier information of a source terminal.

61. A method according to claim 55 , wherein the order information specifies a modulo N sequence number.

62. A method according to claim 55 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.

63. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for communicating over a shared medium, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving one or more bursts over a contention channel of the shared medium from a terminal, wherein the bursts are duplicates, the quantity of bursts being dependent on a pre-determined quality-of-service (QoS) designation associated with the terminal; and

selectively discarding all but one of the bursts,

wherein each of the duplicate bursts in the receiving step includes information specifying order of the bursts relative to another set of duplicate bursts.

64. A computer-readable medium according to claim 63 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a diversity ALOHA protocol.

65. A computer-readable medium according to claim 64 , wherein the QoS designation includes a first level of service and a second level of service, the first level of service specifying a greater number of transmissions of the duplicate bursts than the second level of service.

66. A computer-readable medium according to claim 65 , wherein the first level of service specifies one of four slots and three slots, and the second level of service specifies one of two slots and one slot.

67. A computer-readable medium according to claim 63 , wherein each of the duplicate bursts in the receiving step includes information identifying corresponding data within each burst.

68. A computer-readable medium according to claim 67 , wherein the identifying information specifies identifier information of a source terminal.

69. A computer-readable medium according to claim 63 , wherein the order information specifies a modulo N sequence number.

70. A computer-readable medium according to claim 63 , wherein the contention channel is established according to a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)/Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme.