Communications network system including acknowledgement indicating successful receipt of request for reserved communication slots and start time for said reserved communication slots

A computer network for high-speed data communication, comprising:

• a data transmission cable having a root and at least one leaf node;
• a signal conversion system (SCS) attached to said root;
• at least one client station, each attached to a distinct leaf node;
• each client station having:
• a receiver that receives data on said first frequency band;
• and
• a transmitter that transmits up-stream data on a second frequency band, wherein said up-stream data includes requests for reserved slots on said second frequency band for subsequent transmissions;
• said signal conversion system (SCS) having:
• a scheduler operable to determine a start time for requested reserved slots;
• a transmitter that transmits down-stream data onto said cable on a first frequency band, wherein said down-stream data includes acknowledgement of successful receipt of said up-stream data and wherein said acknowledgement includes a delay time indicative of the start time for said requested reserved slots;
• and
• a receiver that receives data from said client stations on a second frequency band;
• wherein said down-stream data includes synchronization and acknowledgement signals.

A method of operating a high-speed data communications network, comprising:

• (a) transmitting from a client station to a signal conversion system (SCS) data including requests for reserved communication slots;
• (b) scheduling said reserved communication slots;
• and
• (c) transmitting from said SCS to said client station an acknowledgement indicating the successful receipt of said request and a start time for said reserved communication slots.

A method for enabling communication among a plurality of stations connected to a shared channel, comprising the steps of:

• dividing the time-domain of said channel into a plurality of slots;
• characterizing each slot as a contention slot or as a reserved slot;
• permitting a plurality of stations to transmit on a contention slot;
• transmitting in said contention slots requests for reserved slots;
• and
• transmitting acknowledgements of successful transmission of data packets transmitted in said contention slots, wherein said acknowledgements include indication of how long a client station requesting reserved slots must wait prior to transmitting in said reserved slots.