Method for channel congestion management

A method for managing data traffic in a multiple-user environment having true random access with more than one transmission present simultaneously, the method comprising the steps of:

• estimating channel load of multiple users at multiple terminals in multiple simultaneous accesses;
• calculating on an ongoing basis a congestion threshold value using said estimate of channel load;
• selecting a current congestion threshold value;
• then
• at each said terminal, performing an experiment comparing the current congestion threshold value with a random number from a random number generator to obtain a transmission value determinative of whether a packet is eligible to be transmitted by each said terminal;
• throttling random transmission of packets according to said transmission value so that a transmitted load from all said terminals has a rate of packet transmission that is less than the current congestion threshold value times an offered load offered to the terminal;
• and
• wherein said estimate of channel load is probability of access and the current congestion threshold value is related to probability of a globally successful transmission of a number of simultaneously transmitted packets.