Staggered startup for cyclic prioritized multiple access (CPMA) contention-free sessions

1. A method for reducing an interference between overlapping first and second wireless cells in a medium, each wireless cell including a respective plurality of member stations, comprising:

coordinating by a first member station in the first wireless cell a periodic sequence of first contention-free sessions, each of the first contention-free sessions including multiple bursts with other member stations in the first wireless cell, and retaining a control of the medium by the first member station by using interframe spaces between the multiple bursts such that the multiple bursts appear to contending stations to be a single instance of activity in the medium during a session;

listening by a second member station in the second wireless cell to the activity in the medium and detecting an end to one of the first contention-free sessions indicated by an interval longer than an idle interval following an end to the activity in the medium;

setting a post-backoff delay by the second member station to periodically transmit after the first contention-free sessions of the first member station; and

coordinating by the second member station in the second wireless cell a periodic sequence of second contention-free sessions, each of the second contention-free sessions including multiple bursts with other member stations in the second wireless cell, and retaining the control of the medium by the second member station by using interframe spaces between the multiple bursts such that the multiple bursts appear to contending stations to be a single instance of activity in the medium.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the post-backoff delay comprises a minimum arbitration interframe space.

3. The method of claim 1 , which further comprises:

initiating a contention-free session when the post-backoff delay is counted down to zero; and

resetting the post-backoff delay to start a new period.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein consecutive ones of the contention-free sessions are separated by idle gaps less than a priority interframe space.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the setting the post-backoff delay further comprises:

detecting an idle period greater than a priority interframe space at a particular time; and

setting the post-backoff delay at the particular time, to a value equal to a fixed deterministic backoff delay, which is greater than a number of overlapping cells, minus a difference between the idle period and the priority interframe space.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second wireless cells are wireless local area network cells.

7. A wireless communications system having a reduced interference between overlapping first and second wireless cells in a medium, each wireless cell including a respective plurality of member stations, comprising:

a first access point station in the first wireless cell;

the first access point station coordinating in the first wireless cell a periodic sequence of first contention-free sessions, each of the first contention-free sessions including multiple bursts with other member stations in the first wireless cell, and retaining a control of the medium by the first access point by using interframe spaces between the multiple bursts such that the multiple bursts appear to contending stations to be a single instance of activity in the medium during a session;

a second access point station in the second wireless cell;

the second access point listening in the second wireless cell to the activity in the medium and detecting an end to one of the first contention-free sessions indicated by an interval longer than an idle interval following an end to the activity in the medium;

the second access point setting a post-backoff delay to periodically transmit after the first contention-free sessions of the first access point; and

the second access point coordinating in the second wireless cell a periodic sequence of second contention-free sessions, each of the second contention-free sessions including multiple bursts with other member stations in the second wireless cell, and retaining the control of the medium by the second access point by using interframe spaces between the multiple bursts such that the multiple bursts appear to contending stations to be a single instance of activity in the medium during a session.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the post-backoff delay comprises a minimum arbitration interframe space.

9. The system of claim 7 , which further comprises:

the second access point initiating a contention-free session when the post-backoff delay is counted down to zero; and

the second access point resetting the post-backoff delay to start a new period.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein consecutive ones of the contention-free sessions are separated by idle gaps less than a priority interframe space.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the setting the post-backoff delay further comprises:

the second access point detecting an idle period greater than a priority interframe space at a particular time; and

the second access point setting the post-backoff delay at the particular time, to a value equal to a fixed deterministic backoff delay, which is greater than a number of overlapping cells, minus a difference between the idle period and the priority interframe space.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the first and second wireless cells are wireless local area network cells.