Mobile satellite beam capacity compensation

Abstract

The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and devices that support mobile satellite beam capacity compensation. Communication services may be provided to a mobile terminal via respective beamformed spot beams that track movement of the mobile terminal. A beam manager may perform resource element allocation of a beam. The beam manager may compensate for link impairments associated with resource elements associated with the beam by altering one or more characteristics associated with the resource elements. The beam manager may determine the presence of the link impairment associated with the resource element and, based thereon, allocate more power for an associated beam and / or allocate the beam to additional resource elements. The beam manager may determine the presence or absence of link impairment and compensate for it during a repeating period of time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following mainly concerns communications, including mobile satellite beam capacity compensation. Background Technology

[0002] Communication devices can communicate with each other using wired connections, wireless (e.g., radio frequency (RF)) connections, or both. Wireless communication between devices can be performed using wireless spectrum allocated to service providers, wireless technologies, or both. In some examples, the amount of information that can be transmitted via a wireless communication network is based on the amount of wireless spectrum allocated to a service provider and the amount of frequency reuse within the area where the service is provided. Satellite communications can use beamforming to create beams to increase frequency reuse. However, providing high levels of frequency reuse in satellite communication systems employing beamforming presents challenges. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, apparatus, and devices for supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation. For example, communication services can be provided to a mobile terminal via a corresponding beamforming point beam that tracks the movement of the mobile terminal. A beam manager can perform resource element allocation for the beam. The beam manager can compensate for link impairments associated with a resource element, which is associated with the mobile terminal, by changing one or more characteristics associated with that resource element. The beam manager can determine the presence of link impairments associated with a resource element and, based on this, allocate more power to the associated beam and / or allocate the beam to additional resource elements. The beam manager can determine whether link impairments exist or not and compensate for them during repetitive time periods. Attached Figure Description

[0004] Figure 1 An example of a satellite communication system supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, as described herein, is shown.

[0005] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Examples of resources and resource elements for a satellite communication system supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, as described herein, are shown.

[0006] Figure 3 Examples of satellite communication systems supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, based on examples disclosed herein, are shown.

[0007] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Various examples are shown that illustrate possible link impairments and mitigation strategies for supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, based on examples disclosed herein.

[0008] Figure 5A and Figure 5B A timing diagram is shown for an exemplary mitigation strategy supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, based on examples disclosed herein.

[0009] Figure 6 A block diagram of a beam manager supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, based on an example disclosed herein, is shown.

[0010] Figure 7 A block diagram of a beam compensation manager supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation is shown, based on an example disclosed herein.

[0011] Figure 8 and Figure 9 A flowchart is shown illustrating a method for supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation based on examples disclosed herein. Detailed Implementation

[0012] Link impairments associated with mobile terminals occur frequently and can lead to performance degradation and outages for end users due to packet loss or delays, or variations in beam congestion or capacity. In some satellite communication systems, a lower coding rate is enabled when link impairment occurs. This provides more redundancy, which can reduce the number of potential outages. However, redundancy reduces the overall communication speed of the terminal, resulting in degraded user performance and inefficiency.

[0013] This document describes techniques for compensating for link impairments (with little or no performance degradation) associated with resource elements that are linked to a beamforming point beam to which a mobile terminal is assigned. The technique can provide communication services to the mobile terminal via a corresponding beamforming point beam that tracks the mobile terminal's movement. A beam manager can compensate for link impairments. In some cases, the beam manager can modify one or more characteristics associated with a resource element linked to a point beam to compensate for link impairments. In some cases, additional resource elements can be associated with the beam to compensate for link impairments associated with the mobile terminal assigned to that beam. In some cases, additional power can be allocated to the beam to compensate for link impairments. In some cases, the mobile terminal can be switched to a different coverage area with a stronger capacity to compensate for link impairments. Using additional resource elements or additional power, or switching to a different coverage area, can improve the beam's capabilities. This allows the beam to provide the user with at least the same level of capability (e.g., communication speed) as before the link impairment while handling it, thereby mitigating or preventing performance degradation during link impairment.

[0014] In some cases, resource element allocation and / or power allocation can be performed by: determining when a link impairment associated with a mobile terminal exists, determining the number of power and / or resource elements to be added to the beam associated with the mobile terminal, and based on this, allocating more power to the beam and / or allocating spot beams to additional resource elements. In some cases, the presence or absence of link impairment can be determined during a repetitive time period.

[0015] The discussion in this paper generally refers to link impairment as being “associated” with a resource element. Link impairment may alternatively be considered as being “associated” with the beamforming point beam associated with the resource element or the mobile terminal assigned to the beamforming point beam. Therefore, when this paper refers to link impairment as being associated with a resource element, it can also be considered as being associated with the beamforming point beam and / or the mobile terminal associated with that resource element. Similarly, resource elements, beamforming point beams, and mobile terminals can all be considered as being associated with link impairment.

[0016] The discussion herein may refer to either a resource element assigned to a beamforming point beam or a beamforming point beam assigned to a resource element. These phrases are to be considered interchangeable. That is, a resource element assigned to a beamforming point beam can be considered the same as a beamforming point beam assigned to a resource element. Similarly, assigning a resource element to a beamforming point beam can be used interchangeably with assigning a beamforming point beam to a resource element.

[0017] Various aspects of this disclosure are initially described in the context of satellite communication systems. Further aspects of this disclosure are shown and described with reference to equipment diagrams, system diagrams, block diagrams, and flowcharts relating to mobile satellite beam capacity compensation.

[0018] Figure 1 An example of a satellite communication system 100 supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, according to the examples described herein, is shown. The satellite communication system 100 may include a terrestrial network 135 and a satellite network 101, configured to track one or more mobile terminals 120 and provide communication services to them.

[0019] The terrestrial network 135 may include a group of earth stations 170 with access nodes 140 configured to communicate with the satellite network 101 via feeder links 132 (e.g., one or more satellite beams). Access nodes 140 may be coupled to access node transceivers 145 configured to process signals received from and to be transmitted through their respective access nodes. Access node transceivers 145 may also be configured to interact with network 125 (e.g., the Internet)—for example, via network device 130 (e.g., a network operations center, satellite and gateway terminal command center, or other central processing center or device) that can provide an interface for communicating with network 125.

[0020] The terrestrial network may also include a beam manager 175 for controlling the tracking of the mobile terminal when providing communication services to the mobile terminal via the beamforming point beam, coordinating resource elements used by the beam, and compensating for link impairments of the mobile terminal, as discussed herein. The beam manager 175 may retrieve information (e.g., associated with satellite network 101 and terminal 120) from satellite network 101 (e.g., via feeder link 132 and access node 140) for performing control, coordination, and compensation, and may therefore send commands (e.g., to satellite network 101 and / or terminal 120) (e.g., via access node and feeder link).

[0021] In some examples, beam manager 175 may be a single device. Alternatively, beam manager 175 may be distributed throughout the system, for example, in two or more elements of a satellite network and / or a terrestrial network. For example, beam manager 175 may be incorporated into one or more devices in a terrestrial network (e.g., network device 130 or access node transceiver 145) or one or more devices in a satellite network (e.g., on a single satellite 105 or distributed among multiple satellites) or a combination of devices in both terrestrial and satellite networks. In some examples, a first portion of beam manager 175 may be located in terrestrial network 135, and a second portion may be located in satellite network 101.

[0022] In some examples, beam manager 175 can determine when a link impairment associated with a mobile terminal exists, determine the number of power and / or resource elements to be associated with the beam associated with the mobile terminal to compensate for the link impairment, and then increase the number of power and / or resource elements associated with that beam. In some examples, the beam manager can determine when a link impairment exists by determining the presence or absence of the link impairment during a repetitive time period.

[0023] Terminal 120 may include various devices configured to transmit signals via satellite network 101. Although terminal 120 is shown as being on an aircraft, terminal 120 may include a fixed terminal (e.g., a ground-based fixed terminal) or a mobile terminal mounted on a mobile platform (e.g., a ship, aircraft, ground-based vehicle, etc.) or a combination of fixed and mobile terminals. Terminal 120 may transmit data and information via access node 140 through satellite system 101. The data and information may communicate with a destination device (such as network device 130) or another device or distributed server associated with network 125.

[0024] Various physical layer transmission modulation and coding techniques can be used for signal communication through access node 140 and terminal 120 as well as components of satellite network 101 (e.g., satellite).

[0025] Satellite network 101 may include one or more satellites 105 (e.g., a single satellite 105 or a satellite network) deployed in space orbits (e.g., low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, geostationary orbit, etc.). Each satellite 105 included in satellite network 101 may be equipped with one or more antennas (e.g., a single antenna or an antenna array). In some examples, one or more satellites 105 equipped with multiple antennas may each include one or more antenna panels comprising an array of uniformly distributed antennas (which may also be referred to as antenna elements). In some examples, satellites may be equipped with antenna arrays comprising antennas non-uniformly distributed across a large area. Ground network 135 may also include access nodes 140 having multiple antenna array elements.

[0026] Terminal 120 may include an antenna assembly, which may also include various hardware for mounting the antenna. The antenna assembly may also include circuitry and / or a processor for performing conversions (e.g., frequency conversion, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, filtering, forwarding, etc.) between radio frequency (RF) satellite communication signals and satellite terminal communication signals transmitted between the antenna and a satellite terminal receiver. For mobile terminals, the antenna assembly may be mounted externally to the mobile platform (e.g., externally to the fuselage of an aircraft). Alternatively or additionally, terminal 120 may include a transceiver, which may be mounted internally or externally to the mobile platform and may include circuitry and / or a processor for performing various RF signal operations (e.g., receiving; performing frequency conversion, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, etc.).

[0027] Satellite network 101 can have a large aperture size, which can be spanned by an antenna array or multiple satellites of satellite network 101. Beam manager 175 can use one or more satellites to support beamforming technology within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system to increase the utilization of resources used for communication. Beam manager 175 can employ beamforming (including using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology) to utilize multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals over different space layers on the same frequency resources. Beam manager 175 can cause multiple signals to be transmitted, for example, by a transmitting device (e.g., satellite 105) via a set of antennas according to a set of weighting coefficients. Similarly, multiple signals can be received by a receiving device (e.g., satellite terminal 120) via a set of antennas according to a set of weighting coefficients. Each of the multiple signals can be associated with a separate spatial stream and can carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords).

[0028] In some examples, some or all of the antenna elements on satellite 105, terrestrial network 135, and / or terminal 120 may be arranged to form an array of receive and / or transmit feed elements that cooperate to achieve various examples of machine-carrier beamforming (OBBF), ground-based beamforming (GBBF), end-to-end beamforming, or other types of beamforming. In a GBBF implementation, multiple transmit or receive antennas may be present at the terrestrial network access node.

[0029] Beam manager 175 can determine weighting coefficients applicable to a set of antennas. For example, for N spatial layers to be formed, beam manager 175 can utilize an (M x N) MIMO matrix, where M can represent the number of antennas in the set. In some examples, M may be equal to N. Beam manager 175 can determine the MIMO matrix based on the channel matrix and can use the MIMO matrix to isolate different spatial layers of the channel. In some examples, beam manager 175 can select weighting coefficients to emphasize signals transmitted using different spatial layers while reducing interference with signals transmitted in other spatial layers. Therefore, processing signals received at each antenna in a set of antennas (e.g., signals received at a set of antennas) using a MIMO matrix may result in multiple output signals, each of which can correspond to one of the spatial layers. In some examples, the weighting coefficients used for MIMO communication can be called beamforming coefficients or beamforming coefficients, and the multiple spatial layers can be called beams or spot beams.

[0030] Beam manager 175 can determine the elements of the MIMO matrix used to form the spatial layer of the channel based on channel sounding probes. Channel sounding probes can include reference signals periodically transmitted between satellite network 101 and devices coupled to the satellite network (e.g., terminal 120). For example, channel sounding probes can be periodically transmitted from terminal 120 to satellite 105, or from satellite to terminal, or both, and can include sequences known to both the transmitter and receiver (e.g., based on terminal identifiers or other parameters known to both the transmitter and receiver). Receiving devices (e.g., terminals or satellites) can use the receiving channel sounding probes to evaluate connectivity by correlating the received probes with the expected signal of the channel sounding probes (e.g., to determine signal strength, interference, etc.) and make decisions based on this. Due to the periodicity of the signal, the receiving device can know when to receive the signal.

[0031] Beam manager 175 can use beamforming techniques to shape and direct a communication beam along a spatial path between one or more satellites and mobile terminal 120 within a geographic area. Beam manager 175 can shape the communication beam by determining weighting coefficients for antenna elements of an antenna array. These weighting coefficients cause signals transmitted from or received at an antenna element to be combined such that signals propagating in a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while others experience destructive interference. Therefore, beamforming can be used to transmit signals with energy focused in the communication beam direction and to receive signals arriving in the communication direction with increased signal power (relative to the absence of beamforming). Beam manager 175 can use weighting coefficients to apply amplitude shift, phase shift, or both to the signal carried via the antenna.

[0032] In some examples, beam manager 175 can apply weighting coefficients to an antenna to form multiple beams, each associated with a different direction, whereby these multiple beams can be used to simultaneously transmit multiple signals of the same frequency to different user terminals. This can be referred to as multi-user MIMO. The weighting coefficients used for beamforming can be called beam coefficients, and the multiple signals can be called beam signals. The resulting beam can be referred to herein as a beamforming point beam, spot beam, or beam.

[0033] Beam manager 175 can calculate the amplitude and phase of each weighting coefficient given the antenna array and reflector geometry and location, as well as the desired beam position. However, such methods can be impractical due to inaccuracies (e.g., in satellite position, array orientation, geometry, atmospheric scintillation, etc.). Instead, beam manager 175 can calculate the weighting coefficients using continuous or periodic measurements of the MIMO propagation channel characteristics (e.g., paired channels from each system antenna element to each terminal antenna element) and adjust the weighting coefficients based on the changing channel characteristics. The measured MIMO channel characteristics can include paired gains as well as phase response and noise levels, and can be referred to as MIMO channel state information (CSI). Once the MIMO CSI is obtained, beam manager 175 can derive the weighting coefficients by solving a set of equations or applying a set of adaptive formulas. Various beamforming calculation and adaptive techniques can be used, including minimum mean square (MMSE) beamformers, zero-forcing beamformers, MIMO sphere decoders, etc.

[0034] Measurement of MIMO CSI can involve cooperation from at least one terminal in each beam. The situation may differ between the forward link direction (from satellite to terminal) and the return link direction (from terminal to satellite). In the return link, each terminal can transmit a channel sounding signal, which can be orthogonal to the sounding signals of other terminals. The satellite can determine which channel sounding signal was transmitted from each terminal and can process the signal to estimate the channel parameters corresponding to that terminal's channel. Therefore, MIMO CSI on the return link can be calculated locally on the satellite side for the terminal that transmitted the channel sounding signal. In contrast, on the forward link, the satellite can transmit channel sounding signals. Different antenna elements can transmit signals orthogonal to each other. Each terminal to calculate MIMO CSI can do so by processing the sounding signal corresponding to each transmitting antenna element. Furthermore, each such terminal can transmit MIMO CSI back to the satellite using the return link control channel.

[0035] The spot beams generated in this manner can be tailored for MIMO CSI provided by user terminals, and each beam can illuminate the direction of each such terminal. Each beam has a finite coverage area 160 (e.g., several km in diameter) and can therefore illuminate additional terminals that may be near the CSI-generating terminal. These additional terminals may not be able to provide CSI, as this could unnecessarily increase CSI reporting channel overhead. The terminal used to provide MIMO CSI per beam can be considered a reference terminal for that beam. The reference terminal can be a mobile terminal. In some examples, the coverage area 160 of the beam can be determined based on the wavelength of the carrier and the diameter of the aperture. The coverage area 160 can, for example, correspond to a footprint in which the power level of the beam is above a threshold or in which the power level drops less than a threshold amount (e.g., 3 dB or 6 dB) away from the beam center. In some examples, the coverage area 160 can be based on the beamwidth of the beam.

[0036] In some examples, one or more aircraft-based terminals 120 may be sufficiently separated from each other and from other aircraft, such that beam manager 175 may use a separate beam for each of the one or more terminals. In some examples, two or more of the terminals 120 may be close together (e.g., at an airport), such that beam manager 175 may illuminate the terminals with the same beam. In the former case, each terminal on the aircraft may serve as the reference terminal for its beam, while in the latter case, one of several terminals on the aircraft may act as the reference terminal for the beam.

[0037] As the mobile terminal 120 moves in the airspace, the MIMO CSI may change, resulting in a change in beam direction. The beam manager 175 can adjust the beam direction based on the changed MIMO CSI, allowing the reference terminal to remain at or near the center of the beam. Therefore, as the reference terminal moves, the beam can follow it, as further explained herein.

[0038] Beam manager 175 can associate a beamforming point beam with a set of resources of satellite communication system 100. This set of resources may include, for example, frequency resources, time resources, and polarization resources. For example, a given frequency range 100 of the satellite communication system may include frequency resources or channels, and a given amount of time may include different repetition time slots. For example, beam manager 175 may use a frequency channel to carry a signal (e.g., a modulated signal carried in the beamforming point beam) on one of the repetition time slots. By doing so, beamforming point beams can spatially overlap without interference (if they are associated with different combinations of frequency / time resources). Furthermore, beam manager 175 may use multiple polarizations such that two beamforming point beams can spatially overlap without interference (if they are associated with different polarizations).

[0039] Therefore, beamforming point beams may overlap spatially without interference (if they are not associated with different combinations of resources (e.g., different frequency channel / time slot / polarization combinations)). These different combinations can be referred to as resource elements, which together form a set of resource elements that can be used by beam manager 175 to transmit signals through beams. Beam manager 175 can control the association of beams with resource elements and determine when to assign a beam to one or more resource elements, as discussed herein. Beam manager 175 can also control the amount of power allocated to each beam and when to adjust the power of each beam, as discussed herein.

[0040] Beam manager 175 can adjust the independent coverage area or footprint of the beamforming point beam (e.g., by adjusting weighting coefficients) to track the corresponding mobile terminal (e.g., to move in a manner coordinated with the corresponding mobile terminal). As discussed herein, when the beamforming point beam tracks the mobile terminal, beam manager 175 can compensate for link impairments by changing one or more characteristics associated with the resource element associated with the point beam. For example, when link impairment associated with the mobile terminal occurs, beam manager 175 can allocate the point beam associated with the mobile terminal to an additional resource element or allocate more power to the point beam. Alternatively, beam manager 175 can switch the mobile terminal to a different coverage area. Changing one or more characteristics can enhance the beam's capabilities, enabling the beam to provide users with at least the same level of capability (e.g., communication speed) as before the link impairment while responding to it. This can compensate for (e.g., reduce or prevent) the performance degradation and communication interruptions that may occur during link impairment and allow communication services associated with the mobile terminal to continue operating at a high level even when the link is impaired as the mobile terminal moves through the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system.

[0041] Figure 2A An example of resource 200 for a satellite communication system supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, according to the example described herein, is shown. Resource 200 may correspond to a frequency partition of the satellite communication system. For example, frequency range 205 (e.g., frequency band) may include a set of different frequency resources or frequency channels 210 (e.g., frequency channels 210-a, 210-b, 210-c, 210-d) that carry signals between the satellite network and terminals. Resource 200 may correspond to frequency channel 210 of frequency range 205.

[0042] Each frequency channel 210 may carry a signal associated with a single terminal (e.g., once). For example, each frequency channel 210 may carry a single modulated signal. Information (e.g., data, control information) may be modulated onto the modulated signal using various single-carrier or multi-carrier modulation techniques (e.g., Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), Linear Precoded OFDM (LP-OFDM)). Beamforming point beams may be associated with one or more frequency channels 210 (e.g., via beam manager 175) to provide communication to and track mobile terminals, as discussed herein.

[0043] exist Figure 2A In the example, resource 200 can correspond to frequency channel 210. That is, each frequency channel 210 can be a separate resource 200. Since there are no other types of resources, in some examples, a separate resource can also be a resource element. Therefore, in this example, the number of available resource elements can correspond to the number of frequency channels N.

[0044] Figure 2B An example of resource element 250 for a satellite communication system supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, according to the example described herein, is shown. In this example, frequency channel 210 can be used again to carry signals associated with a terminal. Additionally, frequency channel 210 can be time-multiplexed. That is, each frequency channel 210 can be configured to carry signals to the terminal in time slots that repeat after a certain period of time. For example, time period 215 can be divided into a set of sub-cycles or time slots t (e.g., time slot t1, time slot t2, time slot t3, time slot t4). m Each frequency channel 210 has a length of 225. Each frequency channel 210 can carry a signal to another terminal during each time slot t, although in some cases, multiple time slots within a time period 215 can be allocated to the same terminal. For example, each frequency channel 210 can carry a single modulated signal during each time slot t. Information (e.g., data, control information) can be modulated on the modulated signal using various single-carrier or multi-carrier modulation techniques (e.g., OFDM, DSSS, LP-OFDM) to provide communication to and track a mobile terminal (e.g., via beam manager 175), as discussed herein.

[0045] This process can be repeated upon completion of time period 215, allowing each frequency channel 210 to carry additional signals associated with different terminals during the resource cycle. Therefore, beam manager 175 can communicate with a terminal using frequency channel 210 during a time slot t within each time period 215. In some examples, beam manager 175 can assign a terminal to more than one time slot per time period, and thus communication with that terminal can occur over more than one time slot per time period for frequency channel 210.

[0046] exist Figure 2B In the example, resource element 250 can correspond to a combination of frequency channel 210 and time slot t in time period 215. That is, each unique combination of frequency channel 210 and time slot t can be a separate resource element 250. Therefore, in this example, the number of available resource elements can correspond to the number of frequency channels multiplied by the number of time slots, or N x m. Therefore, with Figure 2A Compared to the previous example, this example can provide more resource elements.

[0047] In addition to multiplexing in time or frequency, different polarizations can be used to define resource elements for allocation to beamforming point beams. For example, a set of resource elements may include a first subset of resource elements associated with a first polarization and a second subset of resource elements associated with a second orthogonal polarization. The first and second polarizations may be orthogonal polarizations and may be linear or circular polarizations (e.g., right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), left-hand circular polarization (LHCP)). Thus, a set of resource elements that beam manager 175 may use to allocate to beamforming point beams can be defined based on frequency resources (e.g., frequency channels), time resources (e.g., sub-terms of resource periods), or polarization resources.

[0048] In some examples, the types of resource elements can be combined. For instance, within the same system, one or more frequency channels can be divided into time slots (e.g., such as...). Figure 2B (in the middle), and one or more other frequency channels can be used as, partitioned (e.g., such as Figure 2A (The middle element) is a separate resource element. Other combinations are also possible.

[0049] Figure 3 An example of a satellite communication system 300 supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation, as disclosed herein, is shown. The satellite communication system 300 can be used as a reference. Figure 1Examples of satellite communication system 100 as described in or in other aspects thereof. Satellite communication system 300 may include a satellite network 101 having one or more satellites 105 configured to generate beamforming point beams 150 (e.g., beam 150-a) for communication with a group of terminals 120 (e.g., terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, 120-d) within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system, as indicated by beam manager 175. A beamforming point beam may be referred to herein as a point beam or a beam.

[0050] Terminal 120 may be located on a mobile platform or vehicle (such as a car, boat, or aircraft) and can therefore be considered a mobile terminal 120. In some examples, each vehicle may include a single mobile terminal. In other examples, one or more vehicles may each include two or more mobile terminals. At least some of the mobile terminals 120 may be multi-user mobile terminals, and therefore the satellite communication system 300 may provide communication services to multiple user devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets) connected via the mobile terminals 120.

[0051] In some examples, satellite communication system 300 can provide communication services to mobile terminal 120 via a set of movable beamforming point beams 150 that track the mobile terminal as controlled by beam manager 175 during its movement. For clarity, Figure 3 Only a single movable beamforming point beam 150-a associated with a single mobile terminal 120-a is shown. Although not in... Figure 3 As shown in the diagram, the movable beamforming point beam 150 can also be associated with one or more of the other mobile terminals 120.

[0052] In some examples, beam manager 175 may associate each beamforming point beam 150 with a different mobile terminal 120. Each mobile terminal 120 associated with its own point beam may also be considered a reference terminal. Each point beam 150 may have a corresponding coverage area 160 (e.g., coverage areas 160-a, 160-b, 160-c, 160-d). The coverage area may, for example, correspond to a footprint in which the power level of the beam is above a threshold or in which the power level drops less than a threshold amount (e.g., 3 dB or 6 dB) away from the beam center.

[0053] In some examples, the beamforming point beam associated with the reference terminal can be formed (e.g., as controlled by beam manager 175) to include the physical location of the terminal within the coverage area of ​​the beamforming point beam. For example, as Figure 3As shown, mobile terminal 120-a, acting as a reference terminal, may be physically located within the coverage area 160-a of beamforming point beam 150-a, and mobile terminals 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d may be physically located within the coverage areas 160-b, 160-c, and 160-d of their respective beamforming point beams (not shown). Satellite communication system 300 may provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-a via beamforming point beam 150-a (e.g., via beam manager 175).

[0054] In some examples, beam manager 175 can cause a beamforming point beam to track a moving mobile terminal while providing communication services to the terminal via the beam. For example, as mobile terminal 120-a physically moves from location A to location B, as indicated by arrow 325, beamforming point beam 150-a can be "moved" to track the mobile terminal, as indicated by arrow 330. In some examples, to "move" the beamforming point beam, beam manager 175 can change the beamforming coefficient associated with the beamforming point beam and apply it to the signal associated with the beamforming point beam. This can change the directivity of the beamforming point beam (e.g., "move" the beam), causing the coverage area of ​​the beamforming point beam to change (e.g., "move").

[0055] To follow or track a mobile terminal, beam manager 175 can modify the beamforming coefficients so that the coverage area of ​​the beamforming point beam can be moved to reflect the movement of the mobile terminal (e.g., in a coordinated manner). Beam manager 175 can continuously adjust the coverage area (e.g., by periodically changing the beamforming coefficients to provide continuous coverage) to continue corresponding to the moving physical location of the mobile terminal and thus track it. For example, beam manager 175 can move the coverage area 160-a of beamforming point beam 150-a (e.g., from coverage area 160-a1 to coverage area 160-a2) so that the physical location of mobile terminal 120-a is covered when mobile terminal 120-a moves from location A to location B. This allows communication services associated with the mobile terminal to be provided via the same beamforming point beam as the mobile terminal moves through the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. For example, beam manager 175 can provide continuous communication services to mobile terminal 120-a via beamforming point beam 150-a without switching when the mobile terminal moves between location A and location B.

[0056] In some examples, beam manager 175 can avoid changing the beamforming coefficients associated with a mobile terminal when the mobile terminal is stationary, because the coverage area of ​​the beamforming point beam may already correspond to the physical location of the stationary terminal. In other examples, beam manager 175 can change the beamforming coefficients even when the mobile terminal is stationary. For example, in some systems, there may be a set of beamforming coefficients that can generate all beams from all beam signals. In those cases, beam manager 175 may change the beamforming coefficients for all terminals even if only one terminal moves.

[0057] In some examples, to track a mobile terminal, beam manager 175 can adjust the coverage area of ​​a spot beam (e.g., a mobile spot beam) based on measurements of signals transmitted by the mobile terminal. In some examples, the terminal can periodically provide channel state information back to the satellite network, and beam manager 175 can process this channel state information to calculate appropriate beamforming coefficients such that the beam energy of the beam signal associated with the aircraft is concentrated on the aircraft. As the aircraft moves, the channel state information may change, which in turn may cause changes to the beam weighting coefficients calculated by beam manager 175. Through this beamformer adaptive process, the beam center can be continuously co-located with the aircraft position (potentially following the aircraft).

[0058] Additionally, beam manager 175 can make an initial estimate of where to move the beam based on the mobile terminal's latest speed and direction of travel. In some examples, beam manager 175 can move the point beam in such a way that the mobile terminal remains focused within the coverage area while it moves. This allows the mobile terminal to maintain a high SNR, resulting in higher overall communication speed and spectral efficiency associated with the mobile terminal.

[0059] In some examples, beam manager 175 can determine the location of the mobile terminal based on information received from the mobile terminal, such as location coordinates (e.g., determined via a positioning system such as GPS), speed, direction, or other information associated with the mobile terminal. In some examples, beam manager 175 can determine the location of the mobile terminal based on information external to the mobile terminal, such as radar or other signals.

[0060] In some examples, a satellite communication system can provide communication services to one or more mobile terminals via beamforming point beams associated with a terminal. For example, in Figure 3In this context, beam manager 175 can establish beamforming point beams 150 (e.g., beamforming point beams 150-a, 150-b, 150-c, and 150-d) for each of mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d, and can provide communication services to the terminals and track the mobile terminals when the mobile terminals move within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system.

[0061] In some examples, beam manager 175 may use initial channel state information to determine the location of the mobile terminal. Beam manager 175 may determine the initial channel state information based on measurements (e.g., signal strength) of an initial signal transmitted (e.g., transmitted to or received from the mobile terminal) by the mobile terminal. The initial channel state information may be based on a corresponding first location of the mobile terminal within coverage area 155 (e.g., location A of mobile terminal 120-a). In some examples, the initial signal may include a corresponding initial channel sounding probe transmitted by the mobile terminal.

[0062] In some examples, to generate a beamforming dot beam, beam manager 175 can apply beamforming coefficients to convert the beam signal associated with each of the beamforming dot beams between the component signals associated with multiple antenna elements of the satellite communication system. For example, to generate a dot beam for transmitting information to a mobile terminal, beam manager 175 can apply beamforming coefficients to the beam signal (which contains information) to obtain component signals applicable to the antenna elements; and to generate a dot beam for receiving information from the mobile terminal, beam manager 175 can apply beamforming coefficients to the component signals received from the mobile terminal at the antenna elements to obtain a beam signal containing information. The beam manager can also determine the power level allocated to the dot beam. Typically, a higher power level allows the beam to have greater capabilities (e.g., data speed).

[0063] Multiple antenna elements may be located on one or more of the satellites 105, or may be located on components of the ground network (not shown) of the satellite communication system 300 (e.g., such as...). Figure 1 As shown, on the access node 140 of the terrestrial network 135. The beam manager 175 can use beamforming coefficients to form a beamforming point beam 150 between the satellite 105 and the coverage area 160. The beam manager 175 can use the beamforming coefficients based on initial channel state information so that the coverage area 160 of the beam 150 can cover the corresponding first location (e.g., location A) of the associated terminal 120.

[0064] The beamforming point beam 150 can be a forward link beamforming point beam (e.g., for transmitting information to a mobile terminal) and / or a return link beamforming point beam (e.g., for receiving information from a mobile terminal). For example, beamforming coefficients can include multiple sets of forward link beamforming coefficients and multiple sets of return link beamforming coefficients.

[0065] The beam manager 175 can apply a first set of forward link beamforming coefficients to a set of forward link beam signals at the first moment to generate a first set of forward link component signals for transmission to one or more mobile terminals via the antenna element at the first moment. Transmitting the first set of forward link component signals to the mobile terminals via the antenna element can form forward link beamforming point beams for the first time, each corresponding to one of the mobile terminals.

[0066] The beam manager 175 can apply a second set of forward link beamforming coefficients to a set of forward link beam signals at a second time to generate a second set of forward link component signals for transmission to the mobile terminal via the antenna element. Transmitting the second set of forward link component signals to the mobile terminal via the antenna element can form a second forward link beamforming point beam, each corresponding to one of the mobile terminals. One or more of the forward link beamforming point beams at the second time may have already moved from their corresponding forward link beamforming point beams at the first time to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal.

[0067] On the return link, beam manager 175 can apply a first set of return link beamforming coefficients to the return link component signal received from the mobile terminal via the antenna element at the first moment. Applying the first set of return link beamforming coefficients can form the return link beamforming point beam for the first time, each corresponding to one in the mobile terminal.

[0068] The beam manager 175 can apply a second set of return link beamforming coefficients to the return link component signals received from the mobile terminal via multiple antenna elements at a second time. Applying the second set of return link beamforming coefficients can form a second return link beamforming point beam. One or more of the return link beamforming point beams at the second time may have already moved from the corresponding return link beamforming point beam at the first time to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal.

[0069] In some examples, beam manager 175 may use subsequent channel state information to determine the subsequent location of the mobile terminal. Beam manager 175 may determine the subsequent channel state information based on measurements of subsequent signals transmitted by the mobile terminal (e.g., signal strength). The subsequent channel state information may be based on a corresponding second location of the mobile terminal within coverage area 155 (e.g., location B of mobile terminal 120-a). The difference between the initial channel state information and the subsequent channel state information may be based on movement of the mobile terminal towards the corresponding second location.

[0070] In some examples, subsequent signals may include corresponding subsequent channel sounding probes transmitted via a mobile terminal. Modifications to the beamforming coefficients may be based on the corresponding subsequent channel sounding probes. In some examples, the corresponding initial and subsequent channel sounding probes may be transmitted via a mobile terminal in a first period, and the beamforming coefficients may be updated in a second period based on this.

[0071] In some examples, beam manager 175 can modify beamforming coefficients and apply them to convert between the beam signal and component signals associated with multiple antenna elements of the satellite network. The modified beamforming coefficients can be based on subsequent channel state information so that the new coverage area of ​​the beam (e.g., coverage area 160-a2) can cover the corresponding second location of the mobile terminal (e.g., location B).

[0072] The beam manager 175 can (as needed and whenever necessary) repeatedly determine the subsequent location of the mobile terminal and modify the beamforming coefficients accordingly. In this way, while providing communication services to the mobile terminal, multiple beamforming point beams 150 can track the movement of the reference terminal 120 over the coverage area 155 of the entire satellite communication system.

[0073] In some examples, beamforming coefficients (e.g., initial beamforming coefficients and all modified beamforming coefficients) may include multiple sets of beamforming coefficients. For a set of beamforming point beams, each set of beamforming coefficients may correspond to a different time period. In some examples, beamforming coefficients may be modified based on features, attributes, or conditions that satisfy (e.g., reach, exceed, and / or fall below) a threshold. For example, beam manager 175 may modify and apply beamforming coefficients based on received signal quality (e.g., measured at a reference mobile terminal or at a satellite communication system) falling below a threshold (e.g., due to link impairments associated with the mobile terminal). For example, beamforming coefficients may be modified to increase beam power. This can allow the signal quality associated with the mobile terminal to remain high, resulting in higher overall communication speed and efficiency associated with the mobile terminal. In some examples, beam manager 175 may determine received signal quality based on subsequent channel state information.

[0074] In some examples, two or more beams can use different resource elements to provide communication services to their respective mobile terminals. For example, beam manager 175 can enable each beam to use different resource elements (e.g., different combinations of frequency channels, time slots, and polarizations) to provide communication to its respective mobile terminal while tracking the mobile terminal. By using different resource elements, interference between beams can be reduced or eliminated even when mobile terminals may be close to each other.

[0075] In some examples, two or more beams can use the same resource element to provide communication services to their respective mobile terminals. For instance, beam manager 175 can enable two or more beams to provide communication to their respective mobile terminals while tracking them using the same combination of frequency channels, time slots, and polarization. This may be desirable when the mobile terminals are far enough apart to prevent the respective beams from interfering with each other. By using the same resource element, more beams can be used with a specific set of resources, thereby increasing frequency reuse.

[0076] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Various examples 410 (e.g., examples 410-a to 410-f) are shown, illustrating possible link impairments and mitigation strategies supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation according to examples disclosed herein. In each example 410, each mobile terminal 120 is assigned to its own beam 150. Furthermore, for each example 410 affected by link impairment (examples 410-b, 410-c, 410-d, and 410-f), the example is shown after mitigation to compensate for the link impairment has been performed, as discussed herein. That is, the example is shown after beam manager 175 performs compensation to improve interference.

[0077] To simplify the discussion, for all mobile terminals 120 in Example 410, if the mobile terminal is undamaged, the spot beam associated with that mobile terminal will each use a single resource element with a power of 1 to provide communication to its corresponding mobile terminal. Therefore, for Examples 410-a and 410-e (which correspond to examples where no link impairment associated with the corresponding mobile terminals 120-a and 120-e was detected), both the number of resource elements and the power are shown as equal to one. Furthermore, if more than one coverage area is available, each spot beam will be assigned to the first coverage area.

[0078] Some link impairments can be static. For the purposes of this application, static link impairments refer to link impairments that can be known in advance without receiving current impairment information from the mobile terminal or the associated spot beam. Figure 4A Examples 410-b, 410-c, and 410-d in the diagram represent examples of static link impairment.

[0079] An example of static link impairment can include impairment due to the type of mobile terminal. Example 410-d corresponds to this type of link impairment. In some examples, the type of mobile terminal may be based on the characteristics of the antenna corresponding to the mobile terminal. In some examples, the type of mobile terminal may be based on the receiver performance corresponding to the mobile terminal.

[0080] In some examples, the type of mobile terminal may be based on the different capabilities of terminal equipment (e.g., antennas, high-power amplifiers, and / or low-noise amplifiers). In some examples, the type of mobile terminal may be based on information from previous communication sessions. For example, the type of mobile terminal may be based on channel performance metrics associated with the mobile terminal (such as those discussed herein), but these metrics were determined from one or more previous communication sessions. In another example, the type of mobile terminal may be based on historical satellite calibration measurements associated with the mobile terminal or the associated spot beam, and / or the performance of the satellite.

[0081] Another example of static link impairment can include impairment due to the mobile terminal being a weak mobile terminal. Example 410-b corresponds to this type of link impairment. A weak mobile terminal can be a mobile terminal known to have slower speeds associated with transmitting and / or receiving signals (via its associated spot beam). This could be due to the mobile terminal having a smaller antenna or a worse noise figure than other mobile terminals, or a problem with the antenna or any other part of the communication link, resulting in link impairment. There can be overlap between weak terminals and terminal types. That is, a weak terminal can also be considered a specific type of terminal.

[0082] Beam manager 175 can determine the presence of many types of static link impairments based on known information associated with the mobile terminal. For example, beam manager 175 can determine the presence of impairments associated with the mobile terminal based on whether the mobile terminal is vulnerable or belongs to a known specific type.

[0083] Another example of static link impairment can include impairment due to the location of the mobile terminal. Example 410-c corresponds to this type of link impairment. This is called static link impairment because the location of the mobile terminal can be determined without receiving impairment information from the mobile terminal. In one example, impairment can occur due to the mobile terminal's proximity to the edge of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system (e.g., the high scan angle of a phased array antenna). In another example, a reflector associated with the mobile terminal may be associated with a phased array, and impairment can occur due to the mobile terminal's proximity to the edge of the coverage area corresponding to that reflector. Other examples of static link impairment can also be found.

[0084] Beam manager 175 can determine the presence of such static link impairment based on the location of the mobile terminal. For example, beam manager 175 can determine the presence of impairment associated with the mobile terminal based on the mobile terminal's proximity to or the edge of the coverage area associated with the satellite communication system.

[0085] In some examples, to determine the presence of link impairment based on the proximity of a mobile terminal to the edge of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system or the coverage area associated with the mobile terminal, beam manager 175 can determine that the mobile terminal is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system or the coverage area associated with the mobile terminal. In some examples, the threshold distance can be based on the scan angle of one or more point beams from the center of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system or the coverage area associated with the mobile terminal.

[0086] Some link impairments can be dynamic. For the purposes of this application, dynamic link impairments refer to link impairments that may not be known in advance; impairment information is received from the mobile terminal or the associated spot beam and is used to determine when the link impairment exists. Figure 4B Example 410-f in the example represents an example of dynamic link impairment.

[0087] An example of dynamic link impairment can include impairment due to rain attenuation. Example 410-f corresponds to this type of link impairment. Rain attenuation can refer to impairment between a mobile terminal and its associated spot beam caused by rain (or other weather phenomena). Other examples of dynamic link impairment can also be found.

[0088] Beam manager 175 can determine the presence of dynamic link impairment based on impairment information received from the mobile terminal or associated spot beams. For example, beam manager 175 can determine the presence of dynamic link impairment associated with the mobile terminal based on one or more channel performance metrics associated with the mobile terminal. In some examples, channel performance metrics may include one or more of the following associated with the mobile terminal: channel gain, receiver gain, noise level, interference level (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SINR)).

[0089] In some examples, beam manager 175 can receive channel performance metrics and determine the presence of link impairment when the channel performance metrics meet a threshold. For example, as Figure 4BAs shown, beam manager 175 can receive channel performance metrics (e.g., SINR) associated with one or more mobile terminals (e.g., mobile terminals 120-e, 120-f) and compare these channel performance metrics with a threshold (e.g., threshold SINR). To initiate this operation, beam manager 175 can cause the mobile terminals to transmit their corresponding channel performance metrics to beam manager 175. If the channel performance metric associated with the mobile terminal meets the threshold, beam manager 175 can determine the presence of link impairment. For example, in Figure 4B In the example, beam manager 175 can receive a high SINR from mobile terminal 120-e associated with beamforming point beam 150-e and a low SINR from mobile terminal 120-f associated with beamforming point beam 150-f. If the threshold SINR is between low and high SINR, beam manager 175 can determine that there is a link impairment associated with mobile terminal 120-f, but no link impairment associated with mobile terminal 120-e.

[0090] Steps can be taken to mitigate or compensate for link impairments. For example, after determining the existence of link impairments associated with one or more mobile terminals, beam manager 175 can change the characteristics associated with the resource elements associated with the mobile terminals.

[0091] In some examples, mitigating or compensating for link impairment may include assigning beamforming point beams to additional resource elements. For example, beam manager 175 may assign additional resource elements (e.g., additional unique combinations of time slots, frequency channels, and polarizations) to a beam associated with a mobile terminal associated with link impairment. Example 410-b illustrates an example of beam manager 175 assigning a second resource element to point beam 150-b to compensate for link impairment associated with mobile terminal 120-b.

[0092] In some examples, mitigating or compensating for link impairment may include increasing the power allocated to a resource element by increasing the power of the beamforming point beam. For example, beam manager 175 may increase the power of the beam associated with a mobile terminal having link impairment. Example 410-c illustrates an example where beam manager 175 has increased the power of point beam 150-c to compensate for link impairment associated with mobile terminal 120-c. In some examples, beam manager 175 may increase power by transmitting a signal to the mobile terminal indicating that an adjustment will be made to the transmission power associated with the mobile terminal. The beam power may be adjusted accordingly using beamforming factors and / or by adjusting the transmission power from one or more antenna elements.

[0093] In some examples, mitigating or compensating for link impairment may include switching a mobile terminal to a different coverage area. For example, a satellite network may include multiple antenna arrays (e.g., multiple phased array antennas on one or more satellites). In some examples, each of the multiple antenna arrays may be a phased array feed reflector. Beam manager 175 may switch a mobile terminal associated with link impairment from the coverage area currently associated with that mobile terminal to one of other coverage areas that have more favorable characteristics for that mobile terminal. For example, beam manager 175 may switch a mobile terminal from a reflector with a coverage area (the mobile terminal is near the edge of that coverage area) to a different reflector with overlapping coverage areas (the mobile terminal may not be near the edge of that coverage area). Example 410-d shows an example where beam manager 175 has switched the beamforming point beam 150-d associated with mobile terminal 120-d to another coverage area to compensate for the link impairment associated with mobile terminal 120-d.

[0094] In some examples, two or more steps can be performed in combination to compensate for link impairments. For example, the number of resource elements and the power associated with a beam can be used in combination. Example 410-f shows an example where beam manager 175 has assigned a second resource element to spot beam 150-f and increased the power of spot beam 150-f to compensate for link impairments associated with mobile terminal 120-f.

[0095] Figure 5A and Figure 5B Timing diagrams 500 and 550 illustrate exemplary mitigation strategies for supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation according to examples disclosed herein. These mitigation strategies can be used via associated point beams (e.g., using a beam manager 175) Figure 4A and Figure 4B The spot beam 150 in the middle) is used to compensate for the interaction with the mobile terminal (e.g., Figure 4A and Figure 4B Link damage associated with mobile terminal 120 in the middle.

[0096] Timing diagrams 500 and 550 may consist of multiple time periods 510 (e.g., time periods 510-a to 510-g). For example, a first time period 510-a may extend from time t1 to time t2, a second time period 510-b may extend from time t2 to time t3, and so on. In some examples, the duration of time periods 510 is equal. During each time period 510, communication services can be provided to the mobile terminal via an associated spot beam, as the spot beam is controlled by a beam manager to track the movement of the mobile terminal. During each time period, the spot beam can provide communication services to the mobile terminal at a corresponding power level using appropriate resource elements.

[0097] Timing diagram 500 corresponds to an exemplary mitigation strategy associated with dynamic link impairments. At time t1, the beam can use a normal beam power level (e.g., equal to...). Figure 4A and Figure 4B The power 1) of a single resource element is used to provide communication services for mobile terminals.

[0098] During each time period 510, the mobile terminal may transmit impairment information (e.g., channel performance metrics) to the beam manager via the spot beam, as shown in window 515 of time period 510-a. During a second window 520 of this time period, the spot beam may use the impairment information to determine whether impairments associated with the mobile terminal exist (e.g., by comparing the channel performance metrics with a threshold). This transmission and comparison may be repeated during each time period 510.

[0099] During each time period 510, if the beam manager determines that impairment exists (e.g., by determining that a performance metric meets a threshold), the beam manager can compensate for the impairment by allocating more power to the spot beam, or by allocating the spot beam to additional resource elements (or both).

[0100] For example, during time period 510-b, the beam manager can determine the presence of link impairment by determining that the performance metrics received from the mobile terminal during time period 510-b meet a threshold. To compensate for the link impairment, the beam manager can allocate more power to the beam and / or allocate the beam to additional resource elements at the beginning of the next time period 510-c. If the beam manager determines that the link impairment still exists during subsequent time periods (e.g., time periods 510-c and 510-d), the beam manager can maintain the use of the increased power and / or additional resource elements for the beam.

[0101] If, during a subsequent time period (e.g., time period 510-e), the beam manager determines that the link impairment no longer exists (e.g., by determining that performance metrics no longer meet thresholds), the beam manager can cause the beam to stop using the increased power and / or additional resource elements (e.g., starting from the next time period 510-f).

[0102] Timing diagram 550 corresponds to an exemplary mitigation strategy associated with static link impairments. Timing diagram 550 is similar to timing diagram 500, except for some differences. Similar to the mitigation strategy in timing diagram 500, the beam manager can determine whether an impairment exists during each time period 510 represented by window 520. However, since the impairment is static, the beam manager does not need to use impairment information transmitted from the mobile terminal to determine its presence or absence. For example, the beam manager can determine the presence or absence of static impairments associated with the mobile terminal by using the location of the mobile terminal, which the beam manager may have already known from determining the beam coefficients used to control the beam to track the mobile terminal.

[0103] Similar to the mitigation strategy in timing diagram 500, if the beam manager determines that impairment exists during a time period (e.g., time period 510-b) (e.g., by determining that the mobile terminal is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system or its associated coverage area), the beam manager can compensate for the impairment by allocating more power to the spot beam and / or initially allocating the spot beam to additional resource elements from the next time period (e.g., time period 510-c). Also similar to the mitigation strategy in timing diagram 500, if the beam manager determines that the link impairment no longer exists during a subsequent time period (e.g., time period 510-e) (e.g., by determining that the mobile terminal is no longer within a threshold distance of the coverage area or the edge of the coverage area), the beam manager can cause the beam to stop using the increased power and / or additional resource elements (e.g., starting from the next time period 510-f).

[0104] Figure 6 A block diagram 600 is shown of a beam manager 605 supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation according to an example disclosed herein. The beam manager 605 can be... Figure 1 An example of beam manager 175. Beam manager 605 may include bus 625, beam compensation manager 670, memory 630, code 635, processor 640, beamformer 645 and beam signal processor 650, and may be configured to control beam tracking of a mobile terminal (e.g., mobile terminal 120); and control resource allocation and collision cancellation of beamforming point beams (e.g., beamforming point beam 150) via antenna array 610.

[0105] The beam manager 605 can be located in the terrestrial network of a satellite communication system (e.g., Figure 1 terrestrial networks (135) or satellite networks (e.g., Figure 1Within the satellite network 101. Alternatively, beam manager 605 can be partitioned between a ground network and a satellite network. In one example (e.g., corresponding to a GBBF configuration), all components of beam manager 605 can reside in the ground network. In another example (e.g., corresponding to an OBBF configuration), beamformer 645 can reside in the satellite network (e.g., in one or more satellites), and the remaining components of beam manager 605 can each reside in either the ground network or the satellite network. In some examples, a distributed implementation can be used. For example, one or more components of beam manager 605, or portions thereof, can reside on different servers (e.g., hosted in the cloud). In some examples, beam manager 605 can reside at a single entity.

[0106] Antenna array 610 may be Figure 1 Examples of antennas for satellite network 101 may include antenna elements 615. In some examples, one or more of the antenna elements 615 may be or include an antenna panel. The spacing between the antenna elements 615 may be uniformly distributed across the aperture of the antenna array 610, or the spacing of the antenna elements 615 may be different across the antenna array 610. In some examples, the first antenna array 610 may be included within a ground segment, and the second antenna array 610 (e.g., one or more antenna arrays coupled to each other using transponders) may be included within a space segment.

[0107] Bus 625 may represent an interface on which signals can be exchanged between components of beam manager 605 and a location (e.g., a central location) on which signal processing components (e.g., beam compensation manager 670, beam signal processor 650, beamformer 645) can be used to distribute signals to beam manager 605. Bus 625 may include one or more wired interfaces. Alternatively, bus 625 may be a wireless interface for wirelessly transmitting signaling between signal processing components—e.g., according to a communication protocol. Beamformer 645 may be coupled to antenna element 615 via one or more wired or wireless interfaces.

[0108] Memory 630 may include volatile memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM)) and / or non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)). Other types of memory are also possible. Memory 630 may store computer-readable and computer-executable code 635. The code may include instructions that, when executed by processor 640, cause beam manager 605 to perform the various functions described herein. Code 635 may be stored in non-transitory computer-readable media, such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, code 635 may not be directly executable by processor 640, but may enable a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, memory 630 may contain, in particular, a basic I / O system (BIOS) that controls basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0109] Processor 640 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors), digital signal processors (DSPs), central processing units (CPUs), microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. Processor 640 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 630) to cause beam manager 605 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting the allocation of mobile satellite beam resources). For example, processor 640 and memory 630 may be configured to perform the various functions described herein.

[0110] Beam signal processor 650 can be configured to process (e.g., demodulate, decode) a received beam signal 654 received from beamformer 645. Beam signal processor 650 can decode data symbols included in the received beam signal 654 to obtain a received beam data signal 664. Information (e.g., data packets) in the received beam data signal 664 can be transmitted (e.g., via one or more networks 125) to a destination device. Beam signal processor 650 can also be configured to process (e.g., encode, modulate) a transmit beam data signal 662 to obtain a transmit beam signal 652 for transmission to beamformer 645. Transmit beam data signal 662 may include received (e.g., via one or more networks 125) information (e.g., data packets) for transmission to terminal 120.

[0111] Beam compensation manager 670 can be configured to determine the presence or absence of link impairment associated with a mobile terminal tracked by a corresponding point beam, determine changes in the power level and resource elements of the point beam based on the presence or absence of link impairment, and guide the execution of these changes. Beam compensation manager 670 may include terminal tracker 620 and impairment compensator 675.

[0112] Terminal tracker 620 can be configured to use antenna element 615 to determine the beamformer 645 for forming beamforming point beams (e.g., Figure 1 Information about the beamforming point beam 150. To determine the information used to form the beamforming point beam, the terminal tracker 620 can identify a set of terminals to be assigned as reference terminals (e.g., ...). Figure 1 The mobile terminal 120 can determine spatial information associated with a reference terminal. The terminal tracker 620 can determine a set of beamforming factors (e.g., phase shift, amplitude components), which the beamformer 645 can use to generate beamforming point beams with independent coverage areas for the spatial information associated with the reference terminal.

[0113] The terminal tracker 620 can determine beamforming factors to isolate signals transmitted on beamforming point beams from each other—for example, by emphasizing signals transmitted within each beamforming point beam and eliminating interference from signals transmitted within other beamforming point beams. The beamforming factors can be included in an M x N matrix, where the value of M can indicate the number of antennas and the value of N can indicate the number of space layers, where the value of N can be less than or equal to the value of M.

[0114] In some examples, the beamforming coefficients can be determined at one or more satellites 105. In some examples, the beamforming coefficients can be received by one or more satellites from one or more ground stations (e.g., network device 130 or other sites of ground network 135) after the beamforming coefficients are determined by the terminal tracker 620.

[0115] Impairment compensator 675 can be configured to perform beam resource allocation, including coordinating resource elements used by the beam. For example, impairment compensator 675 can determine the allocation of beams for each beamforming point: one or more frequency ranges or channels (e.g., Figure 2B Frequency channel 210); one or more time periods and / or time slots (e.g., Figure 2BThe time period 215, time slot t); and / or polarity. The impairment compensator 675 can be configured to allocate a number of resource elements to the beam based on link impairments associated with the mobile terminal associated with the beam. In order to allocate the beam to the determined resource elements, the impairment compensator 675 may include various components such as frequency converters, schedulers, and polarization components.

[0116] Impairment compensator 675 can be further configured to allocate power to the beam. For example, the impairment compensator can allocate power to the beam based on link impairment associated with a mobile terminal associated with the beam.

[0117] In some examples, for a beamforming point beam transmitted via antenna element 615, impairment compensator 675 can determine the frequency range or channel, time slot, and power level to be applied to a set of transmitted beam signals 652 associated with the beamforming point beam. Beamformer 645 can apply a set of transmitted beamforming coefficients to a set of transmitted beam signals 652 based on the frequency range or channel and power level to obtain component signals 656 for transmission via antenna element 615.

[0118] In some examples, for a beamforming point beam received via antenna element 615, terminal tracker 620 may determine a set of receive beamforming coefficients based on the frequency range or channel and power level determined by impairment compensator 675 to obtain a set of component signals 656. Impairment compensator 675 or beamformer 645 may apply the frequency range or channel and time slot to component signals 656 to obtain a set of receive beam signals 654 associated with the beamforming point beam.

[0119] In some examples, the terminal tracker 620, the impairment compensator 675, the beamformer 645, the beam signal processor 650, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communication management circuitry). The hardware may include processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other PLDs, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured to or otherwise support components for performing the functions described herein. In some examples, the processor and memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by executing instructions stored in memory by the processor).

[0120] Alternatively, the terminal tracker 620, damage compensator 675, beamformer 645, beam signal processor 650, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in code 635 (e.g., as communication management software or firmware) executed by processor 640. If implemented in code 635 executed by processor 640, the functionality of the terminal tracker 620, damage compensator 675, beamformer 645, beam signal processor 650, or various combinations or components thereof may be performed by a general-purpose processor, DSP, CPU, ASIC, FPGA, or any combination of these or other programmable logic devices (e.g., units configured or otherwise supported for performing the functions described in this disclosure).

[0121] Figure 7 A block diagram 700 is shown of a beam compensation manager 720 supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation according to an example disclosed herein. The beam compensation manager 720 may be a reference... Figure 6 An example of one aspect of the described beam compensation manager 670. The beam compensation manager 720, or its various components, can be examples of means for performing the various aspects of mobile satellite beam capacity compensation described herein. For example, the beam compensation manager 720 may include a communication manager 725, an allocation guide 730, a beamforming manager 735, a damage determiner 740, a terminal subset determiner 745, a resource element subset determiner 750, a damage compensation manager 755, or any combination thereof. Each of these components can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0122] The communication manager 725 can be configured or otherwise support means for providing communication services to multiple mobile terminals via a set of beamforming point beams using a set of resource elements through a satellite communication system, as discussed herein. Each mobile terminal can be assigned to a beamforming point beam. In some examples, the communication manager 725 may include one or more of other components of the beam compensation manager 720. In some examples, the communication manager 725 may include an assignment guide 730, a beamforming manager 735, a damage determiner 740, a terminal subset determiner 745, a resource element subset determiner 750, and a damage compensation manager 755.

[0123] The allocation guide 730 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for allocating a mobile terminal to a beamforming point beam and for allocating a beamforming point beam to a resource element, as described herein. In some examples, the allocation guide 730 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for allocating a resource element to a beamforming point beam and / or for allocating a beamforming point beam to a mobile terminal. In some examples, the allocation guide 730 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for allocating the beamforming point beam to which a subset of mobile terminals is assigned to an additional resource element. In some examples, the allocation guide 730 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for deassigning a beamforming point beam from an additional resource element.

[0124] The beamforming manager 735 can also be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for adjusting the respective coverage area of ​​the beamforming point beam to track the movement of corresponding mobile terminals of multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system, as discussed herein. This adjustment can be performed over multiple time periods. In some examples, the beamforming manager 735 can be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for increasing the power allocated to a resource element by increasing the power of the beamforming point beam associated with that resource element.

[0125] The impairment determiner 740 may be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining the presence of link impairment associated with one or more mobile terminals, as described herein. This determination may be performed over one or more time periods. In some examples, the impairment determiner 740 may be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining that one or more link impairments no longer exist. In some examples, the impairment determiner 740 may be configured or otherwise supported as means for receiving feedback from the mobile terminal. This feedback may include channel performance metrics. In some examples, the impairment determiner 740 may be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining that a channel performance metric of the mobile terminal meets a threshold. In some examples, the impairment determiner 740 may be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining that the mobile terminal is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system or its associated coverage area edge. In some examples, the impairment determiner 740 may be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining the presence of link impairment based at least in part on the determination that the mobile terminal is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system or its associated coverage area.

[0126] The terminal subset determiner 745 can be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining a subset of mobile terminals associated with link impairment, as described herein. This determination can be performed for each time period in which the presence of link impairment is determined.

[0127] The resource element subset determiner 750 can be configured or otherwise supported as means for determining a subset of resource elements associated with link impairment, as described herein. This determination can be performed for each time period in which the presence of link impairment is determined.

[0128] The damage compensation manager 755 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for compensating for link impairments, as described herein. This compensation may include changing characteristics associated with a subset of resource elements. This compensation may be performed for each time period in which the presence of link impairment is determined. In some examples, the damage compensation manager 755 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for switching a mobile terminal to a different coverage area. In some examples, the damage compensation manager 755 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for directing the allocation guide 730 to allocate beamforming point beams to additional resource elements. In some examples, the damage compensation manager 755 may be configured or otherwise supported to provide means for directing the beamforming manager 735 to increase the power of the beamforming point beam associated with the mobile terminal.

[0129] In some examples, aspects of one or more components of beam compensation manager 670 or 720 may be found in other components of the beam compensation manager or even outside the beam compensation manager. For example, processor 640 and memory 630 may be used to perform one or more functions associated with components of beam compensation manager 720.

[0130] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating method 800 for supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation according to examples disclosed herein is shown. Operation of method 800 can be implemented by a satellite communication system or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 800 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 1 to 7 The described beam manager is used to perform this function. In some examples, the processor can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the beam manager to perform the described function. Alternatively, the beam manager can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described function.

[0131] At 805, the method may include providing communication services to multiple mobile terminals via a set of beamforming point beams of a satellite communication system. Operation at 805 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation at 805 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The communication manager 725 is described to perform this action. In some examples, providing communication services may include the operations of 810, 815, 820, 825, 830, and 835.

[0132] At 810, the method may include assigning each of a plurality of mobile terminals to a beamforming point beam from a set of beamforming point beams, wherein the beamforming point beam is associated with a resource element from a set of resource elements. Operation 810 can be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 810 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The described allocation bootloader 730 is used for execution.

[0133] At point 815, the method may include adjusting the corresponding coverage areas of a set of beamforming point beams over multiple time periods to track the movement of a corresponding mobile terminal among multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system. The operation at point 815 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation at point 815 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The described beamforming manager 735 is used to perform this.

[0134] At 820, the method may include, within one or more time periods of a plurality of time periods, determining the presence of one or more link impairments of a subset of a set of resource elements associated with a subset of a set of beamforming point beams to which a subset of multiple mobile terminal subsets are assigned. The operation at 820 may be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation at 820 may be derived from, as referenced... Figure 7 The damage determiner 740 is described and executed.

[0135] At 825, the method may include: compensating for one or more link impairments associated with a subset of resource elements within one or more time periods for each of one or more time periods in which the existence of link impairment has been determined. The operation at 825 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation at 825 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The damage compensation manager 755 is described and executed.

[0136] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating a method 900 for supporting mobile satellite beam capacity compensation according to examples disclosed herein is shown. Operation of method 900 can be implemented by a beam manager or its components as described herein. For example, operation of method 900 can be performed by, as referenced... Figures 1 to 7 The described beam manager is used to perform this function. In some examples, the processor can execute a set of instructions to control the functional elements of the beam manager to perform the described function. Alternatively, the beam manager can use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described function.

[0137] At 905, the method may include: providing communication services to a mobile terminal using a set of resource elements via a beamforming point beam of a satellite communication system. Operation 905 can be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation 905 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The communication manager 725 is described to perform this action. In some examples, providing communication services may include the operations of 910, 915, 920, and 925.

[0138] At 910, the method may include: assigning a mobile terminal to a beamforming point beam associated with a resource element in a set of resource elements. The operation of 910 can be performed according to examples as disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation of 910 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The described allocation bootloader 730 is used for execution.

[0139] At 915, the method may include adjusting the coverage area of ​​the beamforming point beam to track the movement of a mobile terminal within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. Operation 915 can be performed according to the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of operation 915 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The described beamforming manager 735 is used to perform this.

[0140] At 920, the method may include: determining the presence of a link impairment associated with the resource element during a first time period. The operation at 920 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation at 920 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The damage determiner 740 is described and executed.

[0141] At 925, the method may include: compensating for link impairments associated with the resource element for a second time period. The operation at 925 can be performed according to examples disclosed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operation at 925 may be derived from references... Figure 7 The damage compensation manager 755 is described and executed.

[0142] In some examples, the device as described herein can perform one or more methods, such as method 800 and / or method 900. The device may include features, circuitry, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., processor-executable non-transitory computer-readable medium storage instructions) or any combination thereof for performing one or more methods.

[0143] It should be noted that these methods describe examples of implementation schemes, and the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified to make other implementation schemes possible. In some examples, two or more aspects from the method may be combined. For example, each aspect of the method may include steps or aspects of other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein.

[0144] The information and signals described herein can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and skills. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0145] The various illustrative blocks and modules described herein can be implemented or performed as follows: a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0146] The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented as software executed by a processor, these functions can be stored or transmitted to a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Other examples and embodiments are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwired, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including distributed implementations such that different parts of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0147] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media that include any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media can be any available medium accessible by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical disc read-only memory (CDROM) or other optical disc storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code elements in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Furthermore, any connection is properly referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, these coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of media. As used herein, discs and platters include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital multifunction discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, wherein discs typically reproduce data magnetically, while platters optically reproduce data using lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0148] As used herein, the word "or" included in the claims, as in the list of items (e.g., a list of items beginning with phrases such as "at least one of..." or "one or more of..."), indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Similarly, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as referring to a closed set of conditions. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "at least partially based on".

[0149] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference numerals. Furthermore, various components of the same type can be distinguished by a dash following the reference numeral and a second numeral used to differentiate them among similar components. If only the first reference numeral is used in the specification, the description applies to any of the similar components having the same first reference numeral, regardless of the second or other subsequent reference numerals.

[0150] Exemplary configurations are described herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and do not represent all implementable examples or all examples within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "serving as an example, instance, or demonstration" and is not "preferred" or "superior" to other examples. Detailed descriptions include specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and apparatuses are shown in block diagram form so as not to obscure the concepts of the described examples.

[0151] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use this disclosure. Various modifications to this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but rather aims to achieve the broadest possible understanding of the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Communication services are provided to multiple mobile terminals (120) via a set of beamforming point beams (150) of a satellite communication system (100) using a set of resource elements, wherein providing the communication services includes: Each of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) is assigned to a beamforming point beam (150) in the set of beamforming point beams, wherein the beamforming point beam is associated with a resource element in the set of resource elements; Adjust the corresponding coverage area (160) of the set of beamforming point beams (150) within multiple time periods (510) to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal (120) among the multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); For one or more of the plurality of time periods (510), determine the presence of one or more link impairments of a subset of the set of resource elements associated with a subset of the set of beamforming point beams (150) to which a subset of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) is assigned; and For each of the one or more time periods (510) in which link impairment has been identified, compensate for the one or more link impairments associated with the subset of resource elements for the one or more time periods.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments includes changing the characteristics associated with the subset of resource elements for the one or more time periods (510).

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments comprises: The power of the resource elements in the subset of the resource elements is increased by increasing the power of the beamforming point beam associated with the resource element for the one or more time periods (510).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments comprises: The beamforming point beams (150) in the subset of beamforming point beams are assigned to the additional resource elements.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100) comprises a plurality of coverage areas with different characteristics, and wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments comprises: Switch the mobile terminals (120) in the subset of mobile terminals to different coverage areas.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one or more link impairments include one or more of static link impairments or dynamic link impairments.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the one or more link impairments include impairments based on vulnerable mobile terminals.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more link impairments include rain attenuation.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein determining the presence of one or more link impairments comprises: Receive channel performance metrics associated with the mobile terminal (120) among the plurality of mobile terminals; Determine that the channel performance metric associated with the mobile terminal (120) meets a threshold; and The existence of link impairment associated with the resource element and the beamforming point beam (150) to which the mobile terminal (120) is assigned is determined at least in part based on the determination that the channel performance metric associated with the mobile terminal (120) meets the threshold.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the channel performance metric includes one or more of a channel gain, receiver gain, interference level, or noise level associated with the mobile terminal (120).

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the channel performance metric includes the signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) associated with the mobile terminal (120).

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein determining the presence of one or more link impairments comprises: Determine that one of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); as well as The presence of link impairment associated with the resource element and the beamforming point beam (150) to which the mobile terminal (120) is assigned is determined at least in part based on the determination of the mobile terminal (120) within the threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the threshold distance is at least partially based on the scanning angle of one or more beamforming point beams (150) of the set of beamforming point beams from the center of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the determination of the presence of one or more link impairments is based at least in part on channel performance metrics of the plurality of mobile terminals (120).

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the determination of the presence of one or more link impairments is based at least in part on the type of mobile terminal (120) among the plurality of mobile terminals.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the type of the mobile terminal (120) is at least partially based on the characteristics of a corresponding antenna corresponding to the mobile terminal.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the type of the mobile terminal (120) is at least partially based on the receiver performance corresponding to the mobile terminal.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein: Assigning each mobile terminal to a beamforming point beam includes: assigning the first mobile terminal (120) to the first beamforming point beam (150) associated with the first resource element; Adjusting the corresponding coverage area of ​​the set of beamforming point beams to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal includes: adjusting the coverage area (160) of the first beamforming point beam (150) to track the movement of the first mobile terminal (120). Determining the existence of one or more link impairments includes: determining the existence of a first link impairment associated with the first resource element during a first time period (510); and Compensating for the one or more link impairments includes: compensating for the first link impairment associated with the first resource element for a second time period (510).

19. The method of claim 18, wherein compensating for the first link impairment comprises: Change the properties of the first resource element.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein providing the communication service further comprises: During the third time period (510), it was determined that the first link impairment no longer existed; as well as The characteristic of the first resource element is reset for the fourth time period (510).

21. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein compensating for the first link impairment comprises: The power allocated to the first resource element is increased by increasing the power of the beam (150) at the first beamforming point.

22. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein compensating for the first link impairment comprises: The first beamforming point beam (150) is assigned to an additional resource element in the set of resource elements.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein providing the communication service further comprises: During the third time period (510), it was determined that the first link impairment no longer existed; as well as For the fourth time period (510), the first beamforming point beam (150) is deassigned from the additional resource elements.

24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100) comprises a plurality of coverage areas with different characteristics, and wherein compensating for the first link impairment comprises: The first mobile terminal (120) is switched to a different coverage area.

25. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 24, wherein the first link impairment includes static link impairment or dynamic link impairment.

26. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, wherein the first link impairment includes impairment based on the first mobile terminal (120) being a vulnerable mobile terminal.

27. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, wherein the first link impairment includes rain attenuation.

28. The method of any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein determining the presence of the first link impairment comprises: The channel performance index of the first mobile terminal (120) is determined to meet the threshold.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein providing the communication service further comprises: Feedback is received from the first mobile terminal (120) during the first time period (510), wherein the feedback includes the channel performance metrics.

30. The method according to any one of claims 28 or 29, wherein providing the communication service further comprises: During the third time period (510), it is determined that the first link impairment no longer exists, wherein determining that the first link impairment no longer exists includes: It is determined that the channel performance index of the first mobile terminal (120) does not meet the threshold.

31. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 30, wherein the determination of the link impairment is based at least in part on the coverage area (160) of the first beamforming point beam (150).

32. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 31, wherein the determination of the presence of the first link impairment is based at least in part on terminal and satellite calibration measurements of the first mobile terminal (120).

33. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 32, wherein determining the presence of the first link impairment comprises: Determine that the first mobile terminal (120) is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); as well as The existence of the first link impairment is determined at least in part based on the determination that the first mobile terminal (120) is within the threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the threshold distance is at least partially based on the scanning angle of the first beamforming point beam (150) from the center of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

35. An apparatus comprising: A beam manager (175) associated with a storage device, wherein the beam manager (175) is configured to cause the device to: Communication services are provided to multiple mobile terminals (120) via a set of beamforming point beams (150) of a satellite communication system (100) using a set of resource elements, wherein providing the communication services includes: Each of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) is assigned to a beamforming point beam (150) in the set of beamforming point beams, wherein the beamforming point beam is associated with a resource element in the set of resource elements; Adjust the corresponding coverage area (160) of the set of beamforming point beams (150) within multiple time periods (510) to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal (120) among the multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); For one or more of the plurality of time periods (510), determine the presence of one or more link impairments of a subset of the set of resource elements associated with a subset of the set of beamforming point beams (150) to which a subset of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) is assigned; and For each of the one or more time periods (510) in which the link impairment has been identified, compensate for the one or more link impairments associated with the subset of resource elements for the one or more time periods (510).

36. The device of claim 35, wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to: Change the properties associated with the subset of resource elements for the one or more time periods (510).

37. The device according to any one of claims 35 or 36, wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to: The power of the resource elements in the subset of the resource elements is increased by increasing the power of the beamforming point beam (150) associated with the resource element for the one or more time periods (510).

38. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to: The beamforming point beams (150) in the subset of beamforming point beams are assigned to the additional resource elements.

39. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 38, wherein the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100) comprises a plurality of coverage areas with different characteristics, and wherein compensating for the one or more link impairments is further configured to enable the device to: Switch the mobile terminals (120) in the subset of mobile terminals to different coverage areas.

40. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 39, wherein the one or more link impairments include one or more of static link impairments or dynamic link impairments.

41. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 40, wherein the one or more link impairments include impairments based on vulnerable mobile terminals.

42. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 41, wherein the one or more link impairments include rain attenuation.

43. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 42, wherein determining the presence of one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to: Receive channel performance metrics associated with the mobile terminal (120) among the plurality of mobile terminals; Determine that the channel performance metric associated with the mobile terminal (120) meets a threshold; and The existence of link impairment associated with the resource element and the beamforming point beam (150) to which the mobile terminal (120) is assigned is determined at least in part based on the determination that the channel performance metric associated with the mobile terminal (120) meets the threshold.

44. The device of claim 43, wherein the channel performance metric includes one or more of a channel gain, receiver gain, interference level, or noise level associated with the mobile terminal (120).

45. The device of claim 43, wherein the channel performance metric includes the signal-to-noise ratio (SINR) associated with the mobile terminal (120).

46. ​​The device according to any one of claims 35 to 45, wherein determining the presence of one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to: Determine that mobile terminal (120) of the plurality of mobile terminals is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); and The presence of link impairment associated with the resource element and the beamforming point beam (150) to which the mobile terminal (120) is assigned is determined at least in part based on the determination of the mobile terminal (120) within the threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

47. The device of claim 46, wherein the threshold distance is based at least in part on the scanning angle of one or more beamforming point beams (150) of the set of beamforming point beams from the center of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

48. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 47, wherein the determination of the presence of one or more link impairments is based at least in part on channel performance metrics of the plurality of mobile terminals (120).

49. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 48, wherein the determination of the presence of one or more link impairments is based at least in part on the type of the mobile terminal (120) among the plurality of mobile terminals.

50. The device of claim 49, wherein the type of the mobile terminal is at least partially based on the characteristics of the corresponding antenna corresponding to the mobile terminal (120).

51. The device of claim 49, wherein the type of the mobile terminal is at least partially based on the receiver performance corresponding to the mobile terminal (120).

52. The device according to any one of claims 35 to 51, wherein: Each mobile terminal is assigned to a beamforming point beam, which is configured to cause the device to assign the first mobile terminal (120) to the first beamforming point beam (150) associated with the first resource element; Adjusting the corresponding coverage area of ​​the set of beamforming point beams to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal is configured such that the device adjusts the coverage area (160) of the first beamforming point beam (150) to track the movement of the first mobile terminal (120). Determining the existence of one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to determine the existence of a first link impairment associated with the first resource element during a first time period (510); as well as The compensation for the one or more link impairments is configured to cause the device to compensate for the first link impairment associated with the first resource element for a second time period (510).

53. The device of claim 52, wherein compensating for the first link impairment is configured to cause the device to: Change the properties of the first resource element.

54. The device of claim 53, wherein providing the communication service is further configured to cause the device to: During the third time period (510), it was determined that the first link impairment no longer existed; and The characteristic of the first resource element is reset for the fourth time period (510).

55. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 54, wherein compensating for the first link impairment is configured to cause the device to: The power allocated to the first resource element is increased by increasing the power of the beam (150) at the first beamforming point.

56. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 55, wherein compensating for the first link impairment is configured to cause the device to: The first beamforming point beam (150) is assigned to an additional resource element in the set of resource elements.

57. The device of claim 56, wherein providing the communication service is further configured to cause the device to: During the third time period (510), it was determined that the first link impairment no longer existed; and For the fourth time period (510), the first beamforming point beam (150) is deassigned from the additional resource elements.

58. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 57, wherein the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100) comprises a plurality of coverage areas with different characteristics, and wherein compensating for the first link impairment is configured to cause the device to: The first mobile terminal (120) is switched to a different coverage area.

59. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 58, wherein the first link impairment includes static link impairment or dynamic link impairment.

60. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 59, wherein the first link impairment includes impairment based on the first mobile terminal (120) being a vulnerable mobile terminal.

61. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 59, wherein the first link impairment includes rain attenuation.

62. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 61, wherein determining the presence of the first link impairment is configured to cause the device to: The channel performance index of the first mobile terminal (120) is determined to meet the threshold.

63. The device of claim 62, wherein providing the communication service is further configured to cause the device to: Feedback is received from the first mobile terminal (120) during the first time period (510), wherein the feedback includes the channel performance metrics.

64. The device according to any one of claims 62 or 63, wherein providing the communication service is further configured to cause the device to: During the third time period (510), it is determined that the first link impairment no longer exists, wherein determining that the first link impairment no longer exists is configured to cause the device to: It is determined that the channel performance index of the first mobile terminal (120) does not meet the threshold.

65. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 64, wherein the determination of the link impairment is based at least in part on the coverage area (160) of the first beamforming point beam (150).

66. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 65, wherein the determination of the presence of the first link impairment is based at least in part on terminal and satellite calibration measurements of the first mobile terminal (120).

67. The device according to any one of claims 52 to 66, wherein determining the presence of the first link impairment is configured to cause the device to: Determine that the first mobile terminal (120) is within a threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); and The presence of a first link impairment is determined at least in part based on the determination that the first mobile terminal (120) is within the threshold distance of the edge of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

68. The device of claim 67, wherein the threshold distance is at least partially based on the scanning angle of the first beamforming point beam (150) from the center of the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100).

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