Servicing multiple high speed data users in shared packets of a high speed wireless channel

A slot structure carries data/control for a plurality of user terminals on a high speed forward channel. The slot structure includes a preamble that identifies the plurality of user terminals and a data rate of the slot structure. In one embodiment, the data rate is indicated via an Explicit Data Rate Indicator (EDRI) that is (8,4,4) code. Further, the preamble includes a plurality of 32-ary Walsh functions, each of which corresponds to an identified user terminal. According to a particular embodiment, the slot structure services four user terminals, with a first set of two user terminals identified by 32-ary Walsh functions transmitted on an in-phase portion of a carrier during the preamble and a second set of two user terminals identified by 32-ary Walsh functions transmitted on a quadrature portion of the carrier during the preamble. In such embodiment, the EDRI code is also carried on the quadrature portion of the carrier during the preamble.