Method and system for random access of a radio channel

The invention relates to a radio communication system having a random access packet channel for the transmission of data packets (214) from a secondary station to a primary station. Such a channel is intended for use by secondary stations having packets of data (214) to transmit to a primary station while not actually engaged in a call. A secondary station wishing to transmit data packets (214) engages in two contention resolution phases (208, 210) with the primary station. This addresses the problem with prior art systems that there is a significant chance of two secondary stations believing that they have been granted access to the channel, the resultant collisions leading to a significant reduction in system capacity.