An apparatus for compressing the header of ATM cells in order to provide greater bandwidth includes means for discriminating cells/packets (1310), means for detecting header (1320), means for compressing header (1330), means for combining compressed header with payload (1350), means for discriminating compressed header cell/packet (1710), means for detecting header in compressed header and separating header from payload (1720), means for decompressing header (1730), and means for combining decompressed header with payload (1740) to form cell/packets.

A method, apparatus, article of manufacture, and a memory structure communicating information, particularly information transferred to and from an Internet host. The apparatus comprises a radio port control unit, comprising a router, and a stub. The router is communicatively coupled to transmit and receive messages with an Internet host and communicatively coupled to a packet forwarding module to accept SU-sourced messages and to provide SU-addressed messages to the packet forwarding module in a first data transfer protocol. The stub is coupled between the router and the packet forwarding module to translate messages from the first data transfer protocol to a second data transfer protocol and to translate messages from the second data transfer protocol to the first data transfer protocol. The method comprises the steps of receiving a data packet having a data payload, determining if the data payload is a loss-sensitive message or a delay-sensitive message, configuring the data packet to indicate that an acknowledge message is required if the day payload is a loss-sensitive message and configuring the data packet to indicate that the acknowledgement message is not required if the data payload is a delay sensitive message, and transmitting the data packet.

Subnet directed broadcasts for initial program load of network stations are not gated by clients on a slower subnet and changes in the source IP address to accommodate multiple IOPs and load balancing are permitted. A subnet broadcast server transfers a datagram including the load program together with a subnet broadcast identifier and source port identifier to client network stations on a subnet basis. Routers at subnets not matching the subnet broadcast identifier unicast the datagram to a next gateway; and routers at broadcast identifier matching subnets data link layer broadcast unicasted datagrams from intervening subnets to all neighbors on the matching subnet while disregarding forwarding this data link layer broadcast to any adjoining subnets.

The present invention provides electrical power to wireless communication antenna systems by tapping into the electrical circuit used to power outdoor elevated lighting systems. The connection is made by interrupting the lighting circuit at the electric eye or photocell. A power adapter is inserted between the electric eye and the light circuit. Cabling is used to interconnect the power adapter and an antenna module mounted to the light pole.

Growth of a distributed communication system is facilitated through dynamic addition of routing elements. A new routing element may be added to a network of routing elements by first establishing a connection between the new routing element and an existing routing element in the network. The connection may be either wireless or wireline. At least one address is assigned to the new routing element. Each assigned address comes from a pool of addresses maintained at the existing routing element. At least one pool of addresses is issued to the new routing element, permitting the new routing element to dynamically add yet another new routing element to the network of routing elements.