Abstract: A method for authenticating terminals in a wireless communication service involves receiving registration requests from terminals requiring access, transmitting to each of the terminals a signalling channel assignment signal allocating a duplex signalling channel uniquely to each terminal, transmitting in the signalling channel an authentication request signal, receiving an authentication response signal in the channel, the contents of which depend on the context of the authentication request signal, and deciding whether to allow access to the system according to the contents of the authentication response signal.

Abstract: In a bandwidth allocation protocol for a mobile communications network, mobile terminals report their bandwidth requirements to the network, while the network controls the amount of bandwidth that is used by the mobiles in reporting their bandwidth requirements. The mobiles indicate the total quantity of data awaiting transmission, the maximum delay time of the most urgent portion of the data and the maximum delay time of the least urgent portion. If a collision occurs between transmission by two mobiles, the mobiles wait for an interval controlled by the network before attempting another contention-based access transmission. The network periodically varies the contention-based access capacity available according to the observed usage level and/or collision rate in the previously allocated contention-based access capacity. The network analyses the forward traffic to individual mobiles and predicts the return bandwidth requirements which are likely to result from the forward traffic.