A method is disclosed for minimizing latency for high priority messages without sacrificing subnet bandwidth in a wireless, multiple access network such as Link 16. Nodes are able to simultaneously receive messages on at least two subnets, one of which is designated as a low latency (“LL”) subnet that transmits messages immediately on a contention access basis. A message acknowledgement protocol can be implemented and high priority messages that fail due to collisions or other reasons can be retransmitted. Jitter can be used to detect collisions. Embodiments include a plurality of “standard” and/or LL subnets designated for messages of varied urgency. High priority messages can reserve an acknowledgement timeslot for use only by the message recipient. Link 16 embodiments implement CMN-4, whereby the LL subnet is one of four subnets monitored by each node. Link 16 latencies in the LL network can be limited to less than 40 msec.