Minimizing Speech Delay in Communication Devices

A method in a communication device for coordinating audio data processing and network communication processing, the method comprising:

• demodulating a series of received communication frames, using a network communication processing circuit, to produce received encoded audio frames;
• generating an event report for each of one or more of the received encoded audio frames, the event report indicating a network communication circuit processing time associated with the corresponding received encoded audio frames;
• decoding the received encoded audio frames using an audio data processing circuit, and outputting the decoded audio to an audio circuit;
• and
• adjusting timing of the outputting of the decoded audio based on the generated event reports.

A communication device comprising a network communication processing circuit and an audio processing circuit, and comprising control circuitry configured to:

• set lower and upper threshold values for use by the network communication processing circuit, the lower and upper threshold values defining a window of timing offsets relative to each of a series of periodic network communications frame boundaries;
• send each of a series of encoded audio data frames to the network communication processing circuit for transmission over a network communications link;
• receive an event report from the network communication processing circuit for one or more instances in which an encoded audio frame is sent to the network communication processing circuit outside any of the defined windows;
• and
• adjust timing of the sending of one or more of the encoded audio data frames based on the event report.