Abstract: A coordinator communication device operates in a communication network according to a communication protocol that defines repeating time cycles and specifies that each of multiple communication devices is provided a respective transmit opportunity in each time cycle. The coordinator communication device determines a number of follower communication devices in a communication network while the follower communication devices are selecting transmit opportunities using respective initial device identifiers. The coordinator communication device determines a quantity of transmit opportunities to be provided in each of multiple time cycles during which the follower communication devices are selecting transmit opportunities using respective new device identifiers. The coordinator communication device determines the quantity of transmit opportunities at least by using the number of follower communication devices.

Abstract: A system and method for generating a frequency rich spectrum in a data stream is disclosed. A network interface comprises a substitutor module, a symbol replacement module, and an encoder module. The substitutor module replaces idle streams in a first data stream with alignment symbols, boundary symbols and disposable symbols to generate a second data stream. The symbol replacement module receives the second data stream, generates random data, and replaces one or more of the disposable symbols in the second data stream with the random data in order to generate a third data stream. The encoder module encodes the third data stream.