System and method for providing quality of service provisions and congestion control in a wireless communication network

A method for operating a node in a wireless communication network to assess congestion, the method comprising:

• operating the node to evaluate an amount of traffic that the node is receiving and an amount of traffic that the node is transmitting;
• operating the node to determine whether congestion exists at the node based on the evaluated amounts of received and transmitted traffic;
• and
• when the node determines that congestion exists, operating the node to determine a source and a reason for the congestion, and to transmit a message including information pertaining to the congestion and the source and the reason for the congestion to the source of the congestion and further to one or more other nodes.

A wireless communication network, comprising:

• a plurality of nodes;
• and
• at least one access point, operating to provide at least one of the nodes with access to another network;
• the access point further operating to evaluate an amount of traffic that the access point is receiving and an amount of traffic that the access point is transmitting, to determine whether congestion exists at the access point based on the evaluated amounts of received and transmitted traffic, and to transmit a message including a source and a reason for the congestion when the access point determines that congestion exists;
• and
• the nodes that receive the message operate to determine whether to adjust their respective transmission rates based on the source and the reason for the congestion included in the message, and further operate to transmit another message to one or more other nodes including to the source and the reason for the congestion of the access point.