US Patent 7830907 Frame structure for OFDM signaling, including beacons and traffic

Provided is a frame structure for filtered OFDM signaling, wherein once every frame a central controller passes redundant broadcast data for a short time (e.g. 16 symbol times) over all frequencies in use. This broadcast, called a beacon, may carry control information, frame structure information, and other data. The rest of the frame is divided into other assignments, including broadband redundantly coded channels for broadcast, ALOHA contention access, or point-to-point transmissions, and including traffic channels that may use only some of the assigned frequencies intended primarily for point-to-point access. This allows a mix of TDMA and FDMA point-to-point and broadband access. This system may be controlled by a central coordinator, which issues reservations. This system allows devices on a frequency-selective channel to communicate with scheduled operations.