MULTI-CHANNEL ACCESS CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AIS BASED ON DULTIPLE TRANSMITTERS

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus in which an Automatic Identification System (AIS) accesses a radio channel. The present invention includes selecting a slot on which a packet is to be transmitted on at least one radio channel, temporarily sending a first carrier, notifying other AISs that the selected slot has been selected by the AIS, on the selected slot in transmission mode, and after temporarily sending the first carrier, detecting a second carrier transmitted by another device on the selected slot in reception mode. In accordance with the present invention, the AIS temporarily sends a first carrier, notifying other AISs that a selected slot has been selected by the AIS, on the selected slot prior to the detection of a second carrier, and another AIS accessing the same slot detects the first carrier temporarily transmitted. Accordingly, a collision between channels can be avoided.