US Patent 7680077 Statistical priority-based multiple access system and method

A system and method for controlling channel access in a communications system is disclosed. The method and system include providing a data packet to communications queue and determining the priority of the data packet. The method and system also generate a channel occupancy statistic. The channel occupancy statistic is based on the level of activity on a communications channel during a predetermined period. The method and system also compare the channel occupancy statistic to a predetermined threshold. The threshold is based on the priority.