Applying MSTDM to packet voice and data in cellular radio systems

Movable slot TDM (MSTDM) is a variant of the Ethernet protocol that provides quality of service guarantees for voice. The protocol has been applied to LANs and CATV networks. However cellular networks are different. (1) Each cell has a base station: when mobile units communicate through the base station, frequency reuse increases and collisions are detected. (2) The objective is to connect mobile units to the communication infrastructure: communications between units is only used to share the channel. (3) The base station broadcasts packets from the communications infrastructure to the mobile units: this channel can also provide timing and control. Rapid contention resolution techniques make it unnecessary to transmit voice during silent intervals. Taking advantage of the cellular characteristics and TASI increases the number of voice connections by a factor of 8.