Method and apparatus for admitting a request for allocation of wireless connection resources in a communication system

A method for admitting a request for allocating bandwidth for a public-safety user in a communication system where bandwidth is shared between commercial users and public-safety users, wherein the commercial users primarily utilize a commercial portion of the bandwidth and the public-safety users primarily utilize a public-safety portion of the bandwidth, the public-safety portion of the bandwidth comprises a public-safety part that is unused, and the commercial portion of the bandwidth comprises a commercial part that is unused, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving, via an interface, a request for a bearer reservation for bandwidth, wherein the request is associated with a priority;
• determining if the requested bandwidth exists within the public-safety portion of the bandwidth;
• admitting the bearer request using the public-safety portion of the bandwidth when sufficient bandwidth exists within the public-safety portion of the bandwidth;
• determining if the requested bandwidth exists by combining the public-safety part of the bandwidth and the commercial part of the bandwidth when sufficient bandwidth does not exist within the public-safety portion of the bandwidth;
• admitting the bearer request using the commercial part and the public-safety part of the bandwidth when a combination of the public-safety part and the commercial part is enough to satisfy the request, then;
• determining if there is a subset of existing public-safety reservations having a lower priority than the request (lower-priority public-safety reservations) when sufficient bandwidth does not exist by combing a commercial part and a public-safety part of the bandwidth then;
• determining if there are any commercial users having a lower priority than the subset of lower-priority public-safety reservations when the subset of lower priority public-safety reservations exists and when sufficient bandwidth does not exist by combing the commercial part and the public-safety part of the bandwidth then, preempting a subset of the commercial users with the lower priority than the subset lower-priority public-safety reservations to free up an amount of bandwidth from the commercial portion of the bandwidth based on the public-safety part and commercial part, and admitting the request using the commercial part and the public safety part.

An apparatus for admitting a request for allocating bandwidth for a public-safety user in a communication system where bandwidth is shared between commercial users and public-safety users, wherein the commercial users primarily utilize a commercial portion of the bandwidth and the public-safety users primarily utilize a public-safety portion of the bandwidth, the public-safety portion of the bandwidth comprises a public-safety part that is unused, and the commercial portion of the bandwidth comprises a commercial part that is unused, the apparatus comprising:

• an interface receiving a request for a bearer reservation for bandwidth, wherein the request is associated with a priority;
• logic circuitry performing the steps of:
• determining if the requested bandwidth exists within the public-safety portion of the bandwidth;
• admitting the bearer request using the public-safety portion of the bandwidth when sufficient bandwidth exists within the public-safety portion of the bandwidth;
• determining if the requested bandwidth exists by combining the public-safety part of the bandwidth and the commercial part of the bandwidth when sufficient bandwidth does not exist within the public-safety portion of the bandwidth;
• admitting the bearer request using the commercial part and the public-safety part of the bandwidth when a combination of the public-safety part and the commercial part is enough to satisfy the request;
• determining if there is a subset of existing public-safety reservations having a lower priority than the request (lower-priority public-safety reservations) when sufficient bandwidth does not exist by combing a commercial part and a public-safety part of the bandwidth;
• determining if there are any commercial users having a lower priority than the subset of lower-priority public-safety reservations when the subset of lower priority public-safety reservations exists and when sufficient bandwidth does not exist by combing the commercial part and the public-safety part of the bandwidth, then preempting a subset of the commercial users with the lower priority that the subset lower-priority public-safety reservations to free up an amount of bandwidth from the commercial portion of the bandwidth based on the public-safety part, and admitting the request using the commercial part and the public safety part.