Forward error correction media access control system

1. A method of correcting errors in a communication system, the method comprising:

creating an encoded signal from a source signal using a forward error correction technique;

splitting the encoded signal into a plurality of units;

transmitting a first unit of the plurality of units at a transmitter to a receiver through a first route, wherein the first route includes transmitting from a gateway to an access point with a designation to transmit the first unit to a first node, wherein the gateway selects the access point based on a message from the first node, wherein the message from the first node is received at a first time based in part on a slot start time and a first random timing offset, and wherein the message from the first node is received while at least a portion of a second signal is received from a second node at a second time based in part on the slot start time and a second random timing offset; and

transmitting a second unit of the plurality of units at the transmitter to the receiver through a second route.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the forward error correction technique comprises a Reed Solomon encoding technique.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining which nodes of one or more nodes did not successfully decode the encoded signal;

transmitting a third unit of the plurality of units to the nodes of the one or more nodes that did not decode the encoded signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first route is on a first channel between the transmitter and the receiver and the second route is on a second channel between the transmitter and the receiver.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmission of the second unit of the plurality of units is prevented if transmission of the first unit of the plurality of units ensures decoding of the signal to a predetermined reliability level.

6. A gateway comprising:

a processor configured to;

create an encoded signal from a source signal using a forward error correction technique, and

split the encoded signal into a plurality of units; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to;

transmit a first unit of the plurality of units at a transmitter to a receiver through a first route, wherein the first route includes transmitting from the gateway to an access point with a designation to transmit the first unit to a node, wherein the gateway selects the access point based on a message from the node, wherein the message from the first node is received at a first time based in part on a slot start time and a first random timing offset, and wherein the message from the first node is received while at least a portion of a second signal is received from a second node at a second time based in part on the slot start time and a second random timing offset; and

transmit a second unit of the plurality of units at the transmitter to the receiver through a second route.

7. The gateway of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine which nodes of one or more nodes did not successfully decode the encoded signal; and wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a third unit of the plurality of units to the nodes of the one or more nodes that did not decode the encoded signal.

8. The gateway of claim 6 , wherein the first route is on a first channel between the transmitter and the receiver and the second route is on a second channel between the transmitter and the receiver.

9. The gateway of claim 6 , wherein transmission of the second unit of the plurality of units is prevented if transmission of the first unit of the plurality of units ensures decoding of the signal to a predetermined reliability level.

10. A system comprising:

a node comprising;

a receiver; and

a gateway comprising;

a processor configured to;

create an encoded signal from a source signal using a forward error correction technique, and

split the encoded signal into a plurality of units; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to;

transmit a first unit of the plurality of units at a transmitter to the receiver through a first route, wherein the first route includes transmitting from a gateway to an access point with a designation to transmit the first unit to a node, wherein the gateway selects the access point based on a message from the node, wherein the message from the first node is received at a first time based in part on a slot start time and a first random timing offset, and wherein the message from the first node is received while at least a portion of a second signal is received from a second node at a second time based in part on the slot start time and a second random timing offset; and

transmit a second unit of the plurality of units at the transmitter to the receiver through a second route.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor of the gateway is further configured to determine which nodes of one or more nodes did not successfully decode the encoded signal; and wherein the transmitter of the gateway is further configured to transmit a third unit of the plurality of units to the nodes of the one or more nodes that did not decode the encoded signal.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the first route is on a first channel between the transmitter and the receiver and the second route is on a second channel between the transmitter and the receiver.

13. The gateway of claim 6 , wherein the forward error correction technique comprises a Reed Solomon encoding technique.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the forward error correction technique comprises a Reed Solomon encoding technique.

15. The system of claim 10 , wherein transmission of the second unit of the plurality of units is prevented if transmission of the first unit of the plurality of units ensures decoding of the signal to a predetermined reliability level.