A media access controller (MAC) generates a composite packet having an optimized format for carrying audio, video, and data traffic. A header portion of the composite packet is encoded separately from a data portion of the composite packet. A physical device interface (PHY) is coupled to the MAC. The PHY encodes and decodes between a digital signal and a modulated analog signal. The PHY comprises a high rate physical layer circuit (HRP) and a low rate physical layer circuit (LRP). A radio frequency (RF) transmitter is coupled to the PHY to transmit data.
