Power efficient channel scheduling in a wireless network

A method for scheduling data transmission in a wireless network, wherein the wireless network comprises at least one wireless computing device, the wireless computing device supporting a primary communication channel and a secondary communication channel, the secondary communication channel requiring less power to utilize than the primary communication channel, the method comprising:

• establishing a connection between a host transceiver operating at a host computer and a low power transceiver operating at the wireless computing device, the connection being established over the secondary channel;
• receiving a first data packet at the host computer from the low power transceiver over the secondary channel, the first data packet comprising transmission control information related to the primary channel;
• in response to receipt of the control information, applying a scheduling algorithm at the host computer to determine a channel access schedule for the wireless computing device;
• and
• sending the channel access schedule to the low power transceiver over the secondary channel, wherein the channel access schedule notifies the wireless computing device as to when the wireless computing device has access to the primary communication channel in order to transmit data.

A wireless network system for bandwidth scheduling in a wireless network, the system comprising:

• an access point, wherein the access point is an interface to a network;
• a host computer interfaced with the network through the access point, wherein the host computer is logically connected to a host transceiver communicably linkable to a plurality of wireless computing devices over a low power radio channel, the host computer being used to schedule the access of the plurality of wireless devices to a high power radio channel;
• and
• a wireless computing device comprising a high power radio that communicates over the high power radio channel, and a low power radio that communicates control information to the access point via the low power radio channel to communicate the scheduling of the access of the plurality of wireless network devices to the high power radio channel.