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A wireless communications system includes a shared TDM data channel for communications in different time slots with respective mobile stations (MSs), as well as dedicated channels. A first medium access control (MAC) multiplexing sublayer, provided in a base station controller, maps information of l

A wireless communications system includes a shared TDM data channel for communications in different time slots with respective mobile stations (MSs), as well as dedicated channels. A first medium access control (MAC) multiplexing sublayer, provided in a base station controller, maps information of logical channels for communications services to the communications channels. A second MAC multiplexing sublayer maps information, mapped to the shared data channel in the first MAC multiplexing sublayer, to respective data units for communication in respective TDM time slots of the shared channel. The second MAC multiplexing sublayer handles scheduling, adaptive modulation and coding, and automatic retransmission of information on the shared data channel, as well as shared control channels for the shared data channel and channel quality feedback and data acknowledgement channels from the MSs.

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The invention claimed is: 1. A method of mapping information, in a wireless communications system, between logical channels for communications services and physical channels of the wireless communications system, the physical channels including at least one shared channel for communications with ea

The invention claimed is: 1. A method of mapping information, in a wireless communications system, between logical channels for communications services and physical channels of the wireless communications system, the physical channels including at least one shared channel for communications with each of a plurality of terminals in a time division multiplexed (TDM) manner, and dedicated channels each assigned to a respective terminal for a relatively long period, the method comprising the steps of: for information of the logical channels relating to the dedicated channels, mapping the information between the logical channels and the respective dedicated channels in a first multiplexing sublayer of a medium access control (MAC) function; and for information of the logical channels relating to the shared channels, mapping the information between the logical channels and a shared transport channel in said first multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function, and mapping the information between the shared transport channel and the shared physical channel only in a second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of mapping the information between the shared transport channel and the shared physical channel in the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function comprises determining a size of a data unit for communication of said information on the shared physical channel, the method further comprising the step of segmenting and/or multiplexing said information in accordance with the determined data unit size. 3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the step of segmenting and/or multiplexing said information is carried out in the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function. 4. A method as claimed in claim 2 and further comprising the step of communicating the determined data unit size from the second multiplexing sublayer to the first multiplexing sublayer, wherein the step of segmenting andlor multiplexing said information is carried out in the first multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function. 5. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of mapping the information in the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function comprises scheduling said information for communication in respective TDM time slots with respective terminals. 6. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of mapping the information in the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function comprises determining adaptive modulation and/or coding of said information in respective TDM time slots, in dependence upon channel quality feedback information from the respective terminals. 7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of mapping the information in the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function comprises automatic retransmission of said information in respective time slots in dependence upon acknowledgement information from the respective terminals. 8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the physical channels include a shared packet data channel and at least one shared control channel, the method further comprising the step of providing, from the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function, in respective TDM time slots of the shared control channel, information for a respective terminal to decode said information in a corresponding time slot of the shared packet data channel. 9. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function is provided in a base station controller of the wireless communications system. 10. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second multiplexing sublayer of the MAC function is distributed among a plurality of base stations of the wireless communications system. 11. In a wireless communications system providing a plurality of channels for communication of information on a forward link from at least one base station to a mobile station (MS), said channels including a time division multiplexed (TDM) packet data channel for communications in different TDM time slots with respective MSs whereby the TDM packet data channel is shared for a plurality of MSs, and dedicated channels for communication of information in a dedicated manner each to a MS assigned to the dedicated channel, a method of mapping information between logical channels for communications services and said communications channels, the method comprising the steps of: in a first medium access control (MAC) multiplexing sublayer, mapping information of the logical channels to the communications channels in accordance with the respective communications services of the logical channels; and in a second MAC multiplexing sublayer only, mapping information, which is mapped to the shared packet data channel in the first MAC multiplexing sublayer, to respective data units for communication in respective TDM time slots of the TDM packet data channel. 12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the step of mapping information in the second multiplexing sublayer comprises determining adaptive modulation and/or coding of said information in respective TDM time slots, in dependence upon channel quality feedback information from the respective terminals. 13. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the step of mapping information in the second multiplexing sublayer comprises automatic retransmission of said information in respective TDM time slots in dependence upon acknowledgement information from the respective terminals. 14. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the communications channels include a shared packet data control channel and the second MAC multiplexing sublayer provides, in respective TDM time slots of the shared packet data control channel, information for a respective terminal to decode said information in a corresponding TDM time slot of the shared packet data channel. 15. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the first MAC multiplexing sublayer is provided in a base station controller of the wireless communications system. 16. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the second MAC multiplexing sublayer is provided in each of a plurality of base stations of the wireless communications system. 17. A wireless communications system comprising a base station controller (BSC), a plurality of base stations (BSs) for communication with the BSC, and a plurality of terminals for communication with the BSs via wireless communications channels including a time division multiplexed (TDM) packet data channel for communications in different TDM time slots from a BS to respective terminals, and dedicated channels for communication of information from a BS in a dedicated manner each to a MS assigned to the dedicated channel, the system including apparatus for mapping information between logical channels for communications services and the wireless communications channels, the apparatus comprising a first medium access control (MAC) multiplexing function arranged to map information of the logical channels to the wireless communications channels in accordance with the respective communications services of the logical channels; and in a second MAC multiplexing function only, the second MAC multiplexing function arranged to map information, which is mapped to the TDM packet data channel in the first MAC multiplexing function, to respective data units for communication in respective TDM time slots of the packet data channel. 18. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the second MAC multiplexing function is arranged to determine adaptive modulation and/or coding of said information in respective TDM time slots, in dependence upon channel quality feedback information from the respective terminals. 19. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the second MAC multiplexing function is arranged for automatic retransmission of said information in respective TDM time slots in dependence upon acknowledgement information from the respective terminals. 20. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the communications channels include a packet data control channel and the second MAC multiplexing function is arranged to provide, in respective TDM time slots of the packet data control channel, information for a respective terminal to decode said information in a corresponding TDM time slot of the packet data channel. 21. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the first MAC multiplexing function is provided in the BSC. 22. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the second MAC multiplexing function is provided in each of a plurality of BSs. 23. A base station arranged for operation in a wireless communications system as claimed in claim 17.