System and method for integrating voice and data on a single RF channel

A method for integrating data and voice information on a common narrowband RF communications channel utilized for mobile radio communications, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) dividing said common narrowband RF channel into at least two voice paths, each path divided into a plurality of fixed-length slots each corresponding in size to a detectable inter-syllabic speech gap;
• b) digitizing speech messages and organizing said messages into variable-length packets;
• c) digitizing data messages from one or more data sources into fixed-length size packets, a packet corresponding in size to a fixed-length slot;
• d) detecting silence gaps in a digitized speech message, and communicating locations of slots in said voice path corresponding to said detected silent gaps to said data sources;
• and,
• e) dynamically multiplexing said variable-length speech packets and fixed-length data packets in slots belonging to a voice path for transmission over said narrowband RF channel, and embedding said fixed-length data packets in said slots at locations corresponding to said detected silent gaps of said speech.

A mobile radio communication system established between a mobile and a base station operating at land mobile radio frequencies between 450 MHz and 800 MHz, said system comprising:

• means for dividing a narrowband RF communication channel into at least two voice paths, with each path divided into a plurality of fixed-length slots each corresponding in size to a detectable inter-syllabic speech gap;
• first switching means for multiplexing variable-sized packets of speech data onto slots of said one or more voice paths, said variable-sized packets corresponding to talkspurt size speech messages;
• and,
• second switching means for multiplexing fixed-length data packets onto slots of said one or more voice paths, said slots corresponding to locations of silence gaps detected in said speech messages, whereby said first switching means receives a first variable-size packet of a talkspurt speech message belonging to a voice conversation, and ensures that transmission of said first speech message and all subsequent speech messages belonging to said conversation are communicated over a same voice path.