Certificate exchange mechanism for wireless networking

A method of exchanging encryption certificates in a wireless network, the method comprising:

• receiving by a first mobile subscriber station, a plurality of frames transmitted by a sector controller, each frame comprising a control field, the control field comprising a portion of an encryption certificate associated with the sector controller, the first mobile subscriber station comprising a first memory, and the first mobile subscriber station extracting from each of the plurality of frames the portion of an encryption certificate and storing the portion of an encryption certificate in the first memory, combining by the mobile subscriber station, the portions of an encryption certificate stored in the first memory, and verifying that a complete encryption certificate has been received;
• transmitting by the first mobile subscriber station a first subscriber encryption certificate to the sector controller;
• receiving by a second mobile subscriber station, the plurality of frames, the second subscriber station comprising a second memory, and the second mobile subscriber station extracting from the plurality of frames the portion of the encryption certificate and storing the portion of the encryption certificate in the second memory, combining by the second mobile subscriber station, the portions of an encryption certificate stored in the second memory, and verifying that a complete encryption certificate has been received;
• transmitting by the second mobile subscriber station a second subscriber encryption certificate to the sector controller;
• wherein the first mobile subscriber station and the second mobile subscriber station are preregistered with the sector controller, the sector controller ceasing to transmit the portions of the encryption certificate associated with the sector controller once it has received the first subscriber encryption certificate and the second subscriber encryption certificate.

A wireless communications system comprising:

• a sector controller, the sector controller including a wireless transmitter,
• a plurality of mobile subscriber stations, each of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations including a wireless receiver, and a memory,
• the wireless transmitter continuously transmitting frames, each frame comprising a control field, the control field comprising a portion of an encryption certificate associated with the sector controller,
• each of the wireless receivers of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations receiving each frame and extracting the portion of an encryption certificate and storing the portion of an encryption certificate in the memory, and each of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations combining the portions of an encryption certificate stored in the memory and verifying that a complete encryption certificate has been received;
• each of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations replying to the sector controller with a subscriber encryption certificate corresponding to each of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations;
• wherein the plurality of mobile subscriber stations are preregistered with the sector controller, the sector controller ceasing to transmit the portions of the encryption certificate associated with the sector controller once it has received the subscriber encryption certificates corresponding to each of the plurality of mobile subscriber stations.