The reliability of data communication by is improved analyzing plural data units in a group or a block rather than analyzing individual data units. For example, at the time that a transmitter desires or needs to send a polling request to a receiver, there may be more than one data unit available for delivery as a group. The polling fields of all the data units in this group are set to indicate a poll request. When the receiver receives this group of data units, it sends the requested status information to the transmitter if the polling field of at least one of the received data units in the group indicates a poll request. Moreover, the receiver sends the requested status information only once. Those other polling fields may be used to increase the reliability of the transmission.