Mobile satellite beam resource allocation

Abstract

A method, system, and device for mobile satellite beam resource allocation are described. Communication services may be provided to a mobile terminal via each beamformed spot beam that tracks the mobile terminal's movement. A central server may perform resource element allocation by, for recurring time periods, determining interference events associated with beams for the current time period, determining resource elements to associate with the interfering beams for the next time period, and directing the reassignment of beams to resource elements for the next time period. Each beam may be assigned one or more resource elements based on the number of mobile terminals within the beam's coverage area or based on the desired data rates of the mobile terminals. The power associated with the resource elements may be adjusted based on the data rates associated with the mobile terminals or user requests.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The following relates generally to communications involving mobile satellite beam resource allocation. [Background technology]

[0002] Communication devices may communicate with each other using wired connections, wireless (e.g., radio frequency (RF)) connections, or both. Wireless communication between devices may be performed using a radio spectrum designated for a service provider, a radio technology, or both. In some embodiments, the amount of information that can be communicated over a wireless communication network is based on the amount of radio spectrum designated for the service provider and the amount of frequency reuse in the area in which the service is provided. Satellite communications may use beamforming to establish beams to increase frequency reuse, but achieving 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, devices, and apparatuses for supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation. For example, communication services may be provided to a mobile terminal via respective beamformed spot beams that track the mobile terminal's movement. A central server may perform resource element allocation by, for recurring time periods, determining interference events associated with beams for the current time period, determining resource elements to associate with interfering beams for the next time period, and directing the reassignment of beams to resource elements for the next time period. Each beam may be assigned one or more resource elements based on the number of mobile terminals within the beam's coverage area or based on the desired data rates of the mobile terminals. The allocation of resource elements or power associated with a beam may be adjusted based on the data rates associated with the beam or user requests. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0004] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a satellite communications system that supports mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments described herein. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2A illustrates an example of resources for a satellite communications system supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with an embodiment described herein. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2B illustrates an example of resources for a satellite communications system supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with an embodiment described herein. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a satellite communications system that supports beam conflict avoidance for mobile satellites in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a satellite communication system that supports beam conflict avoidance for mobile satellites in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A illustrates a block diagram of a satellite communication system supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B illustrates a block diagram of a satellite communication system supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates an example timing diagram supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A illustrates an example scenario of allocation of different types of resource elements to support mobile satellite beam resource allocation, according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B illustrates an example scenario of allocation of different types of resource elements to support mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 7C]FIG. 7C illustrates an example scenario of allocation of different types of resource elements to support mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a beam manager supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a beam / terminal block supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation according to embodiments disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Inter-beam handoff of a mobile terminal can cause end-user disruption due to packet loss or delay, or changes in beam congestion levels or capacity. In some satellite communication systems, inter-beam handoff of a mobile terminal may be based on the mobile terminal's relative location within adjacent fixed beams and may not consider interference between beams. For example, handoff may occur when the mobile terminal is within the overlapping edge of the coverage areas of adjacent beams. In such locations, the mobile terminal's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) may be lower (e.g., compared to when the mobile terminal is located in the center of the coverage area), potentially resulting in performance degradation. To compensate, a lower coding rate may be configured to provide more redundancy. However, this reduces overall communication speed and is inefficient. Furthermore, all edges of a beam's coverage area must overlap with at least one of the other beams, requiring wide beams and significant beam overlap.

[0006] For a mobile terminal on a slow-moving vehicle such as an automobile or a ship, handoffs may occur relatively infrequently, and the associated performance degradation and failures may have little overall impact on communications associated with the mobile terminal. However, for a mobile terminal on a fast-moving vehicle such as an aircraft, performance degradation and failures due to frequent inter-beam handoffs may occur relatively frequently, and may have a greater impact on communications. In either case, it may be beneficial to reduce the number of inter-beam handoffs and the associated performance degradation and failures.

[0007] Techniques are described for performing resource element allocation for spot beams as they track moving mobile terminals in a satellite communication system. In some cases, multiple resource elements may be allocated to a single spot beam. In some cases, the resource elements and / or power associated with each beam may be adjusted based on the data rate or real-time user requests of the mobile terminals associated with the beam. Because data rates and user requests may vary, this may enable each spot beam to provide data as needed or desired, thereby minimizing unused capacity. Alternatively, the data rate of the beam may be based on business considerations, such as a contracted link speed, contracted priority, service layer agreement, or business value associated with the mobile terminal. This may enable the respective data rates to be consistent with business considerations. In some cases, adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) behavior may be dynamically changed based on changes in the power and / or resource elements associated with the beam. In some cases, resource element allocation for the spot beams may be performed by a single central server. The single central server may be used to coordinate the use of resource elements, resulting in more efficient use of the resource elements. As mobile terminals move, a single central server can coordinate the assignment and reallocation of beams to resource elements based on the number of mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​the beam or based on the desired data rates of the mobile terminals, which can be particularly beneficial around airports where many more mobile terminals are in a smaller area.

[0008] Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of a satellite communication system. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, block diagrams, and flowcharts related to beam conflict resolution for mobile satellites.

[0009] 1 illustrates an embodiment of a satellite communications system 100 that supports mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments described herein. The satellite communications system 100 may include a terrestrial network 135 and a satellite network 101 configured to track and provide communication services to one or more mobile terminals 120.

[0010] The terrestrial network 135 may include a collection of earth stations 170 having access nodes 140 configured to communicate with the satellite network 101 via feeder links 132 (e.g., one or more satellite beams). The access nodes 140 may be coupled to access node transceivers 145 configured to process signals received from and to be transmitted through corresponding access nodes 140(s). The access node transceivers 145 may also be configured to interface with a network 125 (e.g., the Internet), for example, via a network device 130 (e.g., a network operations center, a satellite and gateway terminal command center, or other central processing center or device) that may provide an interface for communicating with the network 125.

[0011] The terrestrial network may also include a beam manager 175 for controlling tracking of mobile terminals when communication services are provided to the terminals via beamformed spot beams, coordinating resource elements used by the beams, and performing contention avoidance between associated beams, as discussed herein. The beam manager 175 may obtain information for performing control (e.g., associated with the satellite network 101 and the terminals 120) from the satellite network 101 (e.g., via the feeder link 132 and the access node 140) and may send commands (e.g., to the satellite network 101 and / or the terminals 120) accordingly (e.g., via the access node and the feeder link).

[0012] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may be a single device. Alternatively, the beam manager 175 may be distributed throughout the system, e.g., across two or more elements of the satellite network and / or the terrestrial network. For example, the beam manager 175 may be incorporated into one or more devices of the terrestrial network (e.g., network device 130 or access node transceiver 145), or one or more devices of the satellite network (e.g., within a single satellite 105 or distributed across multiple satellites), or a combination of devices of the terrestrial and satellite networks. In some embodiments, a first portion of the beam manager 175 may be located in the terrestrial network 135 and a second portion may be located in the satellite network 101.

[0013] In some embodiments, beam manager 175 may perform some or all of its functions by a single entity at a single location. For example, coordination of resource elements for beamformed spot beams may be performed at central server 180. In some embodiments, beam manager 175 may first assign beams to sets of resource elements, then, for repeating periods, determine interference events associated with beams for the current period, determine resource elements to associate with interfering beams for the next period, and direct the reassignment of beams to resource elements for the next period, all at central server 180.

[0014] Terminal 120 may include various devices configured to communicate signals with satellite network 101. While terminal 120 is illustrated as being onboard an aircraft, terminal 120 may include a fixed terminal (e.g., a ground-based stationary terminal) or a mobile terminal onboard a moving platform (e.g., a boat, an aircraft, a ground-based vehicle, etc.), or a combination of stationary and mobile terminals. Terminal 120 may communicate data and information with access node 140 via satellite network 101. The data and information may be communicated to a destination device, such as network device 130, or some other device or distributed server associated with network 125.

[0015] Various physical layer transmission modulation and coding techniques may be used by the access nodes 140 and terminals 120, as well as components (e.g., satellites) of the satellite network 101, for communication of signals. In some embodiments, adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) may be used. ACM automatically changes the forward error correction code rate and modulation utilized on the satellite link to compensate for changing link conditions. With ACM, the modcode for each terminal may be adaptively tuned over time to match the terminal's current requirements. As channel conditions change, such as fading that varies during rainy and non-rainy periods, the modcode may adapt accordingly to be just right to compensate for the channel conditions.

[0016] The satellite network 101 may include one or more satellites 105 (e.g., a single satellite 105 or a network of satellites) deployed in space orbit (e.g., low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, geosynchronous orbit, geostationary orbit, etc.). Each satellite 105 included in the satellite network 101 may be equipped with one or more antennas (e.g., a single antenna or an antenna array). In some embodiments, one or more satellites 105 equipped with multiple antennas may each include one or more antenna panels including an array of evenly distributed antennas (which may also be referred to as antenna elements). In some embodiments, a satellite may be equipped with an antenna array including antennas distributed over a wide area. The terrestrial network 135 may also include an access node 140 equipped with multiple antennas or antenna array elements.

[0017] 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 converting (e.g., performing frequency conversion, modulating / demodulating, multiplexing / demultiplexing, filtering, forwarding, etc.) between radio frequency (RF) satellite communication signals and satellite terminal communication signals transmitted between the antenna and the satellite terminal receiver. In the case of a mobile terminal, the antenna assembly may be mounted external to the mobile platform (e.g., outside the fuselage of an aircraft). Additionally or alternatively, terminal 120 may include a transceiver, which may be mounted internal or external to the mobile platform and may include circuitry and / or a processor for performing various RF signal operations (e.g., receiving, performing frequency conversion, modulating / demodulating, multiplexing / demultiplexing, etc.).

[0018] The satellite network 101 may have an antenna array or a large aperture size that can be widened by multiple satellites of the satellite network 101. The beam manager 175 may support beamforming techniques within the satellite communication system coverage area 155 using one or more satellites to enhance utilization of resources used for communication. The beam manager 175 may employ beamforming, including the use of multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) techniques, to take advantage of multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers on the same frequency resource. The beam manager 175 may transmit multiple signals by a transmitting device (e.g., satellite 105) via a set of antennas according to a set of weighting coefficients. Similarly, multiple signals may 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 may be associated with a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords).

[0019] In some embodiments, some or all of the antenna elements on the satellite 105, the terrestrial network 135, and / or the terminal 120 may be arranged as an array of constituent receive and / or transmit feed elements that cooperate to enable various instances of on-board beamforming (OBBF), ground-based beamforming (GBBF), end-to-end beamforming, or other types of beamforming. In a GBBF implementation, there may be multiple transmit or receive antennas on the terrestrial network access node(s).

[0020] The beam manager 175 may determine weighting factors to apply to the set of antennas. For example, if N spatial layers are formed, the beam manager 175 may utilize an (M×N) MIMO matrix, where M may represent the number of antennas in the set of antennas. In some embodiments, M may be equal to N. The beam manager 175 may determine the MIMO matrix based on the channel matrix and may use the MIMO matrix to separate different spatial layers of the channel. In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may select weighting factors to emphasize signals transmitted using different spatial layers while reducing interference of signals transmitted in other spatial layers. Thus, processing signals received at each antenna (e.g., signals received at the set of antennas) using a MIMO matrix with the set of antennas may enable multiple signals to be output, each of the multiple signals may correspond to one of the spatial layers. In some embodiments, the weighting factors used for MIMO communications may be referred to as beam coefficients or beamforming coefficients, and the multiple spatial layers may be referred to as beams or spot beams.

[0021] The beam manager 175 may determine the elements of the MIMO matrix used to form the spatial layers of the channel based on the channel sounding probe. The channel sounding probe may include a reference signal periodically transmitted between the satellite network 101 and a device (e.g., terminal 120) coupled to the satellite network. For example, the channel sounding probe may be periodically transmitted from the terminal 120 to the satellite 105, or from the satellite to the terminal, or both, and may include a sequence known to the transceiver (e.g., based on a terminal identifier or other parameter known to the transceiver). A receiving device (e.g., terminal or satellite) may use the received channel sounding probe to evaluate its connection by correlating the received channel sounding probe with an expected signal for the channel sounding probe (e.g., determining signal strength, interference, etc.) and make decisions accordingly. The periodicity of the signal allows the receiving device to know when to receive the signal.

[0022] The beam manager 175 may use beamforming techniques to shape or direct communication beams along spatial paths between one or more satellites and the mobile terminal 120 within a geographic region. The beam manager 175 may form communication beams by determining weighting coefficients for antenna elements of an antenna array that will combine signals transmitted from or received at the antenna elements so that signals propagating in certain directions relative to the antenna array are subject to constructive interference, while other signals are subject to destructive interference. Thus, beamforming may be used to transmit signals with energy focused in the direction of the communication beam and receive signals arriving in the direction of the communication with increased signal power (relative to the absence of beamforming). The beam manager 175 may use the weighting coefficients to apply amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carried via the antennas.

[0023] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may be used to apply weighting coefficients to the antennas to form multiple beams, each associated with a different direction, which may be used to simultaneously communicate multiple signals having the same frequency to different user terminals. This may be referred to as multi-user MIMO. The weighting coefficients used for beamforming may be referred to as beam coefficients, and the multiple signals may be referred to as beam signals. The resulting beam may be referred to herein as a beamformed spot beam, spot beam, or beam.

[0024] The beam manager 175 may calculate the amplitude and phase of each weighting coefficient taking into account the geometry and location of the antenna array and reflector, as well as the desired beam location. However, due to inaccuracies (e.g., satellite location, array orientation, geometry, atmospheric scintillation effects, etc.), such an approach may be impractical. Instead, the beam manager 175 may calculate the weighting coefficients using continuous or periodic measurements of MIMO propagation channel characteristics (e.g., pairwise channels from each system antenna element to each terminal antenna element) and adjust the weighting coefficients based on changing channel characteristics. The measured MIMO channel characteristics may include pairwise gain and phase responses and noise levels and may be referred to as MIMO channel state information (CSI). Once the MIMO CSI is available, the beam manager 175 may derive the weighting coefficients by solving a set of equations or applying a set of adaptive formulas. Various beamformer calculation and adaptation techniques may be used, such as a least mean square (MMSE) beamformer, a zero-forcing beamformer, or a MIMO sphere decoder.

[0025] Measurement of MIMO CSI may involve the cooperation of at least one terminal for each beam. The situation may differ in the forward link direction (from the satellite to the terminal) and the return link direction (from the terminal to the satellite). In the return link, each terminal may transmit a channel probing signal that may be orthogonal to the probing signals of other terminals. The satellite may determine which channel probing signal was transmitted from each terminal and process the signal to estimate the channel parameters of the channel corresponding to that terminal. In this way, the return link MIMO CSI may be calculated locally at the satellite for the terminal transmitting the channel probing signal. Meanwhile, in the forward link, the satellite may transmit channel probing signals. Different antenna elements may transmit signals that are orthogonal to each other. Each terminal assigned the task of calculating MIMO CSI can do so by processing the probing signals corresponding to each transmitting antenna element. Furthermore, each such terminal may transmit MIMO CSI back to the satellite using a return link control channel.

[0026] The spot beams thus generated may be tailored to the MIMO CSI provided by the user terminals, with each beam shining in the direction of each such terminal. Each beam has a finite coverage area 160 (e.g., several kilometers in diameter) and may therefore illuminate additional terminals that may be in the vicinity of the CSI-generating terminal. These additional terminals may not provide CSI because this may unnecessarily increase CSI reporting channel overhead. The terminal used to provide MIMO CSI for each beam may be considered the reference terminal for that beam. In some embodiments, the coverage area 160 of a beam may be determined based on the wavelength of the carrier and the diameter of the aperture. The coverage area 160 may correspond, for example, to a footprint where the power level of the beam is equal to or greater than a threshold, or where the power level dropoff away from the center of the beam is less than a threshold amount (e.g., 3 decibels (dB) or 6 dB). In some embodiments, the coverage area 160 may be based on the beamwidth of the beam.

[0027] In some embodiments, one or more aircraft-based terminals 120 may be sufficiently distant from each other and from other aircraft so that beam manager 175 can use a separate beam for each of the one or more terminals. In some embodiments, two or more terminals 120 may be in close proximity (e.g., at an airport) so that beam manager 175 can illuminate the terminals with the same beam. In the former case, each terminal on the aircraft may be a reference terminal for that beam, and in the latter case, one of several terminals on the aircraft may be a reference terminal for the beam.

[0028] As mobile terminal 120 moves through the airspace, the MIMO CSI may change, causing the beam direction to change. Beam manager 175 may adjust the beam direction based on the changed MIMO CSI so that the reference terminal may remain at or near the center of the beam. Thus, as the reference terminal moves, the beam may track its movement, as described further herein.

[0029] The beam manager 175 may associate the beamformed spot beam with a set of resources of the satellite communication system 100 (at the central server 180). The set of resources may include, for example, frequency resources, time resources, and polarization resources. For example, a predetermined frequency range of the satellite communication system 100 may include frequency resources or channels, and a predetermined amount of time may include different recurring time slots. For example, the beam manager 175 may use a frequency channel to transmit a signal (e.g., a modulated signal transmitted by the beamformed spot beam) in one of the recurring time slots. In this way, beamformed spot beams can spatially overlap without interference if they are associated with different frequency / time resource combinations. Furthermore, the beam manager 175 may use multiple polarizations so that two beamformed spot beams can spatially overlap without interference if they are associated with different polarizations.

[0030] In this manner, beamformed spot beams may spatially overlap without interference if they are associated with different combinations of resources (e.g., frequency channel / time slot / polarization combinations). The different combinations may be known as resource elements that together form a set of resource elements that may be used to communicate signals on a beam by the beam manager 175. The beam manager 175 may control the association of beams with resource elements and when to reassign beams (e.g., at the central server 180), as discussed herein.

[0031] As discussed herein, the beam manager 175 may adjust the individual coverage areas or footprints of the beamformed spot beams (e.g., by adjusting weighting coefficients) to track (e.g., move in coordination with) each mobile terminal (e.g., reference terminal). This may allow communication services associated with the mobile terminal to be provided via the same beamformed spot beam as the mobile terminal moves throughout the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. This may reduce the number of inter-beam handoffs of the mobile terminal and may reduce performance degradation and communication failures that can result from inter-beam handoffs. For example, in an inter-beam handoff, the beam delivering the terminal may need to be coordinated with the beam receiving the terminal, which may require communication across several communication layers to transfer and verify terminal information between access points (e.g., gateways, gateway modems) serving the beams. This may result in performance degradation and communication failures between beams.

[0032] When two or more movable beamformed spot beams track a mobile terminal, such as when the beams spatially overlap while using the same resource elements (e.g., the same frequency channel, time slot, and polarization combination), conflicts may occasionally arise between the beams. However, these conflicts may be resolved using the conflict resolution procedures discussed herein. For example, when such a conflict occurs (e.g., based on the beams' interference metrics meeting a threshold), the beam manager 175 may change one or more of the conflicting beams to different resource elements. As a result, little or no performance degradation may occur. Also, because conflict resolution only involves a single beam (e.g., without communication between access points serving different beams), communication failures associated with handoffs between beams may be avoided.

[0033] Furthermore, the reference terminal may move but remain centered within the coverage area of ​​the beam, which may allow the SNR of the reference terminal to remain high, and therefore the overall communication speed and efficiency associated with the reference terminal.

[0034] 2A illustrates an example of resources 200 for a satellite communications system supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments described herein. Resources 200 may correspond to a frequency division of the satellite communications system. For example, a frequency range 205 (e.g., a frequency band) may comprise a set of different frequency resources or frequency channels 210 (e.g., frequency channel 210-a, frequency channel 210-b, frequency channel 210-c, frequency channel 210-d) that transmit signals between the satellite network and terminals. Resources 200 may correspond to frequency channels 210 in frequency range 205.

[0035] Each frequency channel 210 may carry a signal associated with a single terminal (e.g., at a time). 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)). Beamformed spot beams may be associated with one or more frequency channels 210 (e.g., by the beam manager 175) to provide communication to and track mobile terminals as discussed herein.

[0036] 2A, resources 200 may correspond to frequency channels 210. That is, each frequency channel 210 may be a separate resource 200. In some embodiments, separate resources may also be resource elements due to the lack of other types of resources. Thus, in this embodiment, the number of available resource elements may correspond to the number N of frequency channels.

[0037] 2B illustrates an example of a resource element 250 for a satellite communications system supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation, in accordance with an embodiment described herein. In this example, frequency channels 210 may be reused to transmit signals associated with terminals. Furthermore, frequency channels 210 may be time multiplexed; that is, each frequency channel 210 may be configured to transmit signals to terminals in time slots that repeat after a certain time. For example, period 215 may be divided into sub-periods or time slots t (e.g., time slot t1, time slot t2, time slot t3, time slot t4, time slot t5), each having a length 225. m) in a set of 100 Mbps. Each frequency channel 210 may transmit a signal to a different terminal during each time slot t, although in some cases, multiple time slots within a period 215 may be allocated to the same terminal. For example, each frequency channel 210 may transmit a single modulated signal during each time slot t. Information (e.g., data, control information) may be modulated onto the modulated signal using various single-carrier or multi-carrier modulation techniques (e.g., OFDM, DSSS, LP-OFDM) to provide communications to and track mobile terminals (e.g., by the beam manager 175) as discussed herein.

[0038] When the time period 215 ends, the process may be repeated such that each frequency channel 210 further transmits signals associated with a different terminal in the resource period. As a result, the beam manager 175 may use the frequency channel 210 for communication with the terminal during one time slot t per time period 215. In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may assign the terminal to more than one time slot per time period, such that communication with the terminal may occur over more than one time slot per time period of the frequency channel 210.

[0039] In the example of Figure 2B, resource elements 250 may correspond to combinations of frequency channels 210 and time slots t in time period 215. That is, each unique combination of frequency channel 210 and time slot t may be a separate resource element 250. Thus, in this example, the number of available resource elements may correspond to the number of frequency channels times the number of time slots, or N x m. Thus, this example may provide more resource elements than the example of Figure 2A.

[0040] In addition to being multiplexed in time or frequency, different polarizations may be used to define resource elements for allocation to beamformed spot 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, linear, or circular (e.g., right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) or left-hand circular polarization (LHCP)). Thus, the set of resource elements available to the beam manager 175 for allocation to beamformed spot beams may be defined according to frequency resources (e.g., frequency channels), time resources (e.g., subperiods of a resource period), or polarization resources.

[0041] In some embodiments, resource element types can be combined. For example, in the same system, one or more frequency channels can be divided into time slots (e.g., as in FIG. 2B) and one or more other frequency channels can be used as separate resource elements without division (e.g., as in FIG. 2A). Other combinations are also possible.

[0042] 3 illustrates an example of a satellite communications system 300 supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 300 may be an example of the satellite communications system 100 described with reference to FIG. 1 or aspects thereof. The satellite communications system 300 may include a satellite network 101 having one or more satellites 105 configured to generate beamformed spot beams 150 (e.g., beam 150-a) for communicating with a set of terminals 120 (e.g., terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, 120-d) within a coverage area 155 of the satellite communications system, as directed by a beam manager 175. The beamformed spot beams may be referred to herein as spot beams or beams.

[0043] Terminals 120 may be located on a mobile platform or a vehicle such as an automobile, boat, or aircraft and thus may be considered mobile terminals 120. In some embodiments, each vehicle may include a single mobile terminal. In other embodiments, 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 thus satellite communications system 300 may provide communications services to multiple user devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets) connected via mobile terminals 120.

[0044] In some embodiments, the satellite communication system 300 may provide communication services to a mobile terminal 120 via a set of steerable beamformed spot beams 150 controlled by the beam manager 175 to track the mobile terminal as the mobile terminal moves. For clarity, only a single steerable beamformed spot beam 150-a is shown in FIG. 3 associated with a single mobile terminal 120-a. Although not shown in FIG. 3, steerable beamformed spot beams 150 may also be associated with one or more of the other mobile terminals 120.

[0045] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may associate each beamformed spot beam 150 with a different mobile terminal 120. Each mobile terminal 120 associated with its spot beam may be referred to as a reference terminal. Each spot beam 150 may have a respective coverage area 160 (e.g., coverage areas 160-a, 160-b, 160-c, 160-d). A coverage area may correspond, for example, to a footprint where the power level of the beam is equal to or greater than a threshold, or where the drop-off in power level away from the center of the beam is less than a threshold amount (e.g., 3 dB or 6 dB).

[0046] In some embodiments, a beamformed spot beam associated with a reference terminal may be formed (e.g., controlled by beam manager 175) to include the terminal's physical location within the beamformed spot beam's coverage area. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, mobile terminal 120-a, functioning as the reference terminal, may be physically located within coverage area 160-a of beamformed spot beam 150-a, and mobile terminals 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d may be physically located within coverage areas 160-b, 160-c, and 160-d of respective beamformed spot beams (not shown). Satellite communications system 300 may provide communications services to mobile terminal 120-a (e.g., via beam manager 175) via beamformed spot beam 150-a.

[0047] In some embodiments, beam manager 175 may cause a beamformed spot beam to track a moving mobile terminal while communication services are provided 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, beamformed spot beam 150-a may “move” to track the mobile terminal, as indicated by arrow 330. In some embodiments, to “move” a beamformed spot beam, beam manager 175 may modify and apply beamforming coefficients associated with the beamformed spot beam to a signal associated with the beamformed spot beam. This may change the directivity of the beamformed spot beam (e.g., “move” the beam), and therefore the coverage area of ​​the beamformed spot beam may change (e.g., “move”).

[0048] To track or track a mobile terminal, the beamforming coefficients may be changed by the beam manager 175 so that the coverage area of ​​the beamformed spot beam moves to reflect the movement of the mobile terminal (e.g., moves in coordination with the mobile terminal). The beam manager 175 may continuously adjust the coverage area (e.g., by periodically changing the beamforming coefficients to provide continuous coverage) to continue to correspond to the moving physical location of the moving mobile terminal and thereby track the mobile terminal. For example, the beam manager 175 may move the coverage area 160-a of the beamformed spot beam 150-a (e.g., from coverage area 160-a1 to coverage area 160-a2) to encompass the physical location of the mobile terminal 120-a as the 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 beamformed spot beam as the mobile terminal moves through the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. For example, the beam manager 175 may provide continuous communication service to the mobile terminal 120-a via the beamformed spot beam 150-a without handoff as the mobile terminal moves between location A and location B.

[0049] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may avoid changing the beamforming coefficients associated with a mobile terminal while the mobile terminal is stationary because the coverage area of ​​the beamformed spot beam may already correspond to the physical location of the stationary terminal. In other embodiments, the beam manager 175 may 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, the beam manager 175 may change the beamforming coefficients used for all terminals even if only one terminal moves.

[0050] In some embodiments, to track the mobile terminal, beam manager 175 may adjust the coverage area of ​​the spot beam (e.g., move the spot beam) based on measurements of signals communicated with the mobile terminal. In some embodiments, the terminal may regularly and periodically provide channel state information to the satellite network, and beam manager 175 may process this channel state information to calculate appropriate beamforming coefficients so that the beam energy of a beam signal associated with an aircraft is focused on that aircraft. As the aircraft moves, the channel state information may change, which in turn may change the beam weighting coefficients calculated by beam manager 175. This beamformer adaptation process may allow the beam center to be continuously co-located with (follow) the aircraft.

[0051] Alternatively, the beam manager 175 may use an initial estimate of where to move the beam based on the mobile terminal's most recent speed and heading. In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may move the spot beam so that the mobile terminal remains centered within the coverage area as the mobile terminal moves. This may allow the SNR of the mobile terminal to remain high, and therefore the overall communication speed and efficiency associated with the mobile terminal.

[0052] In some embodiments, beam manager 175 may 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 embodiments, beam manager 175 may determine the location of the mobile terminal based on information external to the mobile terminal, such as based on radar or other signals.

[0053] In some embodiments, the satellite communication system may provide communication services to one or more mobile terminals via beamformed spot beams associated with the terminals. For example, in FIG. 3, beam manager 175 may establish beamformed spot beams 150 for each of mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d to provide communication services to the terminals and track the mobile terminals as they move within coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system.

[0054] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may use the initial channel state information to determine the locations of the mobile terminals. The beam manager 175 may determine the initial channel state information based on measurements (e.g., signal strength) of initial signals communicated with (e.g., transmitted to or received from) the mobile terminals. The initial channel state information may be based on a first location (e.g., location A of mobile terminal 120-a) of each of the mobile terminals within the coverage area 155. In some embodiments, the initial signals may include each initial channel sounding probe communicated with the mobile terminal.

[0055] In some embodiments, to generate beamformed spot beams, beam manager 175 may apply beamforming coefficients to convert between beam signals associated with each of the beamformed spot beams and component signals associated with multiple antenna elements of the satellite communications system. For example, to generate spot beams for transmitting information to a mobile terminal, beam manager 175 may apply beamforming coefficients to beam signals (including the information) to obtain component signals that can be applied to the antenna elements, and to generate spot beams for receiving information from a mobile terminal, beam manager 175 may apply beamforming coefficients to component signals received from the mobile terminal at the antenna elements to obtain beam signals including the information.

[0056] The multiple antenna elements may be located on one or more of the satellites 105 or may be located in components of a terrestrial network (not shown) of the satellite communications system 300 (e.g., access node 140 of terrestrial network 135 as shown in FIG. 1 ). The beam manager 175 may use the beamforming coefficients to form a beamformed spot beam 150 between the satellite 105 and the coverage area 160. The beam manager 175 may base the beamforming coefficients on the initial channel state information such that the coverage area 160 of the beam 150 encompasses a first location (e.g., location A) of each of the associated terminals 120.

[0057] Beamformed spot beam 150 may be a forward link beamformed spot beam (e.g., for transmitting information to a mobile terminal) and / or a return link beamformed spot beam (e.g., for receiving information from a mobile terminal). For example, the beamforming coefficients may include multiple sets of forward link beamforming coefficients and multiple sets of return link beamforming coefficients.

[0058] Beam manager 175 may apply a first set of forward link beamforming coefficients to the set of forward link beam signals at a first time to generate a first set of forward link component signals for transmission to one or more mobile terminals via the antenna elements at the first time. Transmission of the first set of forward link component signals to the mobile terminals via the antenna elements may form forward link beamformed spot beams, each corresponding to one of the mobile terminals at the first time.

[0059] Beam manager 175 may apply a second set of forward link beamforming coefficients to the 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 elements at the second time. Transmission of the second set of forward link component signals to the mobile terminal via the antenna elements may form forward link beamformed spot beams, each corresponding to a mobile terminal at the second time. One or more forward link beamformed spot beams at the second time may have moved from corresponding forward link beamformed spot beams at the first time to track movement of the corresponding mobile terminal.

[0060] On the return link, the beam manager 175 may apply a first set of return link beamforming coefficients to return link component signals received from the mobile terminals via the antenna elements at a first time point. Applying the first set of return link beamforming coefficients may form return link beamformed spot beams, each corresponding to one of the mobile terminals, at the first time point.

[0061] The beam manager 175 may apply a second set of return link beamforming coefficients at the second time to the return link component signals received from the mobile terminal via the plurality of antenna elements at the second time. Applying the second set of return link beamforming coefficients may form return link beamformed spot beams at the second time. One or more of the return link beamformed spot beams at the second time may have moved from the corresponding return link beamformed spot beam at the first time to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal.

[0062] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may use the subsequent channel state information to determine subsequent locations of the mobile terminals. The beam manager 175 may determine the subsequent channel state information based on measurements (e.g., signal strength) of subsequent signals communicated with the mobile terminals. The subsequent channel state information may be based on second locations (e.g., location B of mobile terminal 120-a) of the mobile terminals within the coverage area 155. The difference between the initial channel state information and the subsequent channel state information may be based on movement of the mobile terminals to their respective second locations.

[0063] In some embodiments, the subsequent signal may include each subsequent channel sounding probe communicated with the mobile terminal. The beamforming coefficients may be modified based on each subsequent channel sounding probe. In some embodiments, each initial and subsequent channel sounding probe may be communicated with the mobile terminal at a first period, and the beamforming coefficients may be updated at a second period based thereon.

[0064] In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may modify the beamforming coefficients and apply them to convert between the beam signals and the component signals associated with the multiple antenna elements of the satellite network. The modified beamforming coefficients may be based on subsequent channel state information such that the beam's new coverage area (e.g., coverage area 160-a2) encompasses the respective second locations (e.g., location B) of the mobile terminals.

[0065] Determining the mobile terminal's subsequent location and modifying the beamforming coefficients based thereon may be repeated by the beam manager 175 as frequently and as long as desired. In this manner, the multiple beamformed spot beams 150 may track the movement of the reference terminal 120 throughout the satellite communication system's coverage area 155 while communication services are provided to the terminal. In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may move the beamformed spot beams 150 to track their respective mobile terminals frequently enough so that the associated coverage area at a current location may overlap with the coverage area at a previous location. That is, each movement of the beamformed spot beams 150 may move the beam by less than the diameter (e.g., radius, or a fraction, such as one-half the radius) of the beamformed spot beam 150.

[0066] In some embodiments, the beamforming coefficients (e.g., the initial beamforming coefficients and all modified beamforming coefficients) may include sets of beamforming coefficients. Each set of beamforming coefficients may correspond to a different time period of the set of beamformed spot beams. In some embodiments, the beamforming coefficients may be modified based on a characteristic, attribute, or condition that satisfies (e.g., meets, exceeds, and / or falls below) a threshold. For example, the beam manager 175 may modify and apply the beamforming coefficients based on the received signal quality (e.g., measured at a reference terminal or a satellite communications system) falling below a threshold. This may maintain high signal quality associated with the mobile terminal, and may also increase overall communication speed and efficiency associated with the mobile terminal. In some embodiments, the beam manager 175 may determine the received signal quality based on subsequent channel state information.

[0067] In some embodiments, two or more beams may use different resource elements to provide communication services to their respective mobile terminals. For example, the beam manager 175 may track the mobile terminals and cause 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. By using different resource elements, interference between beams may be reduced or eliminated even when mobile terminals may be close to each other.

[0068] In some embodiments, two or more beams may use the same resource elements to provide communication services to each mobile terminal. For example, the beam manager 175 may cause two or more beams to use the same combination of frequency channel, time slot, and polarization to provide communication to each mobile terminal while tracking the mobile terminal. This may be desirable when the mobile terminals are far enough apart that the respective beams do not interfere with each other. By using the same resource elements, more beams may be used with a particular set of resources, thereby increasing frequency reuse.

[0069] 4 illustrates another embodiment of a satellite communications system 400 that supports mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 400 may be an embodiment of a satellite communications system discussed herein, such as the satellite communications systems 100 or 300 described with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, or aspects thereof.

[0070] The satellite communication system 400 may include a satellite network 101 having one or more satellites 105 configured to generate movable beamformed spot beams 150 (e.g., beams 150-a and 150-b) to communicate with mobile terminals 120 (e.g., mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b) as the beamformed spot beams are controlled by a beam manager 175 discussed herein to track the mobile terminals.

[0071] In some embodiments, each beamformed spot beam 150 may be associated with a different mobile terminal 120. For example, beam manager 175 may associate beamformed spot beam 150-a with mobile terminal 120-a and beamformed spot beam 150-b with mobile terminal 120-b. Beamformed spot beams 150 may have coverage areas 160 (e.g., coverage areas 160-a and 160-b). For clarity, coverage area 160-a associated with moving beamformed spot beam 150-a corresponding to mobile terminal 120-a is shown with a solid line, and moving beamformed spot beam 150-b and corresponding coverage area 160-b corresponding to mobile terminal 120-b are shown with a dashed line.

[0072] 4 illustrates an example in which two mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b pass close to each other as they travel along their respective paths 460-a and 460-b. Path 460-b corresponding to mobile terminal 120-b is shown in dashed lines, as is beam 150-b and corresponding coverage area 160-b. Mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b may travel along paths 460-a and 460-b from respective starting locations represented by A1 and A2 to respective ending locations represented by G1 and G2. While beams 150-a and 150-b are shown as being on an aircraft, other mobile platforms may also be used. Beams 150-a and 150-b may track mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b, respectively (e.g., by beam manager 175 adjusting their respective coverage areas 160-a and 160-b in coordination with the mobile terminals' movements), and communication services may be provided to the mobile terminals via the beams as the mobile terminals move along the path.

[0073] As mobile terminals 120 move closer to one another, interference between associated beams 150 may increase (e.g., if the beams use the same resource elements). As discussed herein, the beam manager 175 may switch one or both of the beams to different resource elements to improve interference.

[0074] At points along paths 460-a and 460-b, represented by B1 and B2, the beams may begin to overlap one another, for example, due to the mobile terminals moving toward one another. As used herein, beams may be considered to overlap based on the relative positions of their respective coverage areas. For example, beams 150-a and 150-b may overlap when their respective coverage areas 160-a and 160-b overlap one another. In some cases, the coverage areas of the beams may be centered on the locations of the mobile terminals the beams are tracking. For example, coverage areas 160-a and 160-b may be centered on the locations of mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b, respectively. In some embodiments, the overlap of coverage areas may be based on the distance between the corresponding mobile terminals.

[0075] Further along paths 460-a and 460-b, mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b may arrive at another point, represented by C1 and C2, where one or more of the mobile terminals may enter the coverage area of ​​a beam (e.g., by continuing to move toward each other) that does not support the mobile terminal (e.g., does not provide communication service to the mobile terminal or is not tracking the mobile terminal). For example, at C1 / C2, mobile terminal 120-a may enter coverage area 160-b of beam 150-b and / or mobile terminal 120-b may enter coverage area 160-a of beam 150-a. At some point around this time, interference between beams 150-a and 150-b may rise to an unacceptable level. For example, the interference metric of one or both beams may meet (e.g., meet or exceed, or meet or exceed) a threshold. As discussed herein, steps may be taken (eg, by beam manager 175) to improve interference (eg, avoid beam conflicts).

[0076] Mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b may each remain in the coverage areas 160-a and 160-b of both beams 150-a and 150-b until another point along paths 460-a and 460-b, represented by E1 and E2, respectively. At that point, the mobile terminals may no longer be within the coverage area of ​​the other beam (e.g., by moving away from each other). For example, at E1 / E2, mobile terminal 120-a may no longer be within the coverage area 160-b of beam 150-b, and mobile terminal 120-b may no longer be within the coverage area 160-a of beam 150-a. Even after each mobile terminal is no longer within the coverage area of ​​the other terminal, the beams may still overlap. For example, at E1 / E2, the coverage areas 160-a and 160-b of beams 150-a and 150-b may still overlap.

[0077] Beams 150-a and 150-b may remain overlapping until another point along paths 460-a and 460-b, represented by F1 and F2. At that point, beams 150-a and 150-b may no longer overlap one another (e.g., by the mobile terminals continuing to move away from one another). From that point along paths 460-a and 460-b to G1 / G2, beams 150-a and 150-b may remain separated and non-overlapping, as long as the mobile terminals are sufficiently far from one another.

[0078] 2A and 2B, beam manager 175 may use resource elements to provide communication services to mobile terminals via beamformed spot beams. In some embodiments, if the beams do not conflict (e.g., interference between the beams is low), the beams may use the same resource elements to provide communication services to their respective mobile terminals. For example, as long as the interference metrics of beams 150-a and 150-b remain below a threshold, beam manager 175 may use the same resource elements to provide communication to mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b via beams 150-a and 150-b, as discussed herein.

[0079] As mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b move closer to each other (e.g., from A1 / A2 through B1 / B2 and C1 / C2 to D1 / D2), interference between corresponding beams 150-a and 150-b may increase. Increased interference may mean that communications via separate beams (e.g., when using the same resource elements) experience too much inter-beam interference. When the interference rises to a certain level (e.g., when at least one interference metric of the beams meets a threshold), steps may be taken by beam manager 175 to deconflict the beams (e.g., to improve interference).

[0080] In some embodiments, the interference metric may correspond to measured interference of one or more beams. For example, the interference metric may correspond to the signal strength of a beam associated with the terminal. In some embodiments, the signal strength associated with the terminal may be measured at a second terminal. Additionally or alternatively, the interference metric may correspond to signal degradation of the beam (e.g., lower SNR), and the threshold may correspond to a particular level of metric or a particular amount of degradation (e.g., 3 dB or 6 dB SNR loss). In some embodiments, the beam interference may be measured at a receiving device of the communication link. For example, the beam interference may be measured at the mobile terminal (for the forward link) or the satellite (for the return link).

[0081] In some embodiments, the interference metric may correspond to a channel correlation. For example, the interference metric may be based on a correlation between channel state information of two or more mobile terminals. The interference metric may be frequency dependent.

[0082] In some embodiments, the interference metric may correspond to estimated interference of one or more beams. For example, the estimated interference may be based on the distance between mobile terminals or an algorithm that estimates interference between associated beams. In some embodiments, the interference metric may be based on the distance between mobile terminals associated with the beams, and the threshold may correspond to a particular distance. For example, the threshold may correspond to the distance between mobile terminals where the coverage areas of corresponding beams begin to overlap (e.g., at B1 / B2), or the distance between mobile terminals where one of the mobile terminals enters the coverage area of ​​the beam corresponding to the other mobile terminal (e.g., at C1 / C2), or somewhere in between. Other distances are possible.

[0083] In some embodiments, each beam may have multiple interference metric values. For example, the interference metric may correspond to interference between pairs of beams, and the interference between each pair may be compared separately to a threshold. Thus, each beam may have multiple interference values, one between the beam and one of the other beams. For example, for three beams A, B, and C that are close together, beam A may have two separate interference values, one corresponding to the interference between beams A and B and one corresponding to the interference between beams A and C. The interference between beam pairs AB, AC, and BC may be compared separately to a threshold, and demodulation may be performed for pairs of beams whose interference metric meets the threshold.

[0084] In some embodiments, each beam may have a single interference value. For example, the interference metric may correspond to the interference between the beam and multiple other beams (e.g., all other beams). For example, for the same three beams A, B, and C, beam A may have a single interference metric value corresponding to the aggregate interference between beam A and beams B and C. For each beam, the aggregate interference may be compared to a threshold, and demodulation may be performed for the beam(s) whose interference metric meets the threshold.

[0085] Returning to the example shown in FIG. 4, both beams 150-a and 150-b may originally be assigned to the same resource elements (e.g., A1 / A2) to provide communication services to their respective mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b. Mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b may be a significant distance from each other in A1 / A2 such that beams 150-a and 150-b do not conflict with each other (e.g., although assigned to the same resource element A, there may be little, if any, interference between beams 150-a and 150-b). As such, the interference metric between beams 150-a and 150-b may be relatively low (e.g., below a threshold). Beams 150-a and 150-b may be semi-statically assigned to the same resource element A (e.g., by beam manager 175), with each terminal monitoring and / or transmitting on the same resource element until the terminal receives an instruction to switch resource elements.

[0086] Interference between the beams may rise to an unacceptable level (e.g., the interference metric may meet a first threshold). In some embodiments, this may correspond to when one of the mobile terminals 120 enters the coverage area of ​​the other beam 150 (e.g., at or near C1 / C2). In some embodiments, this may correspond to mobile terminals 120-a and 120-b being between B1 / B2 and C1 / C2. Other locations may also be possible, based on when the interference metric value meets the first threshold.

[0087] To improve interference, one or both of the beams may be changed (e.g., by beam manager 175) to different resource elements. For example, in response to the interference metric meeting a first threshold, beam manager 175 may cause beam 150-b to switch resource elements (e.g., by reassigning beam 150-b to resource element B different from resource element A) to provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-b. This may include changing one or more of the frequency channel, time slot, polarization, or other resources (e.g., one or more codes) associated with beam 150-b to be different from those used by beam 150-a. In some embodiments, resource element B may be orthogonal to resource element A.

[0088] After beam 150-b is changed to a resource element different from beam 150-a, interference between beams 150-a and 150-b may be significantly reduced or may no longer exist, and therefore the satellite communication system may continue to provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-b without performing an inter-beam handoff.

[0089] When the interference (or potential interference) between the beams is no longer at an unacceptable level (e.g., the interference metric does not meet the second threshold), beams 150-a and 150-b may again use the same resource elements as each other. For example, beam 150-b may return to its original resource elements (e.g., by beam manager 175 reassigning beam 150-b back to resource element A) to provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-b. Alternatively, beams 150-a and 150-b may continue to use different resource elements from each other. For example, beam manager 175 may have beam 150-b continue to use resource element B instead of changing the resource elements of beam 150-b back to resource element A.

[0090] 5A and 5B show block diagrams of satellite communication systems 500 and 550 supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Satellite communication system 500 may include a beam manager 505 that communicates with mobile terminals 120 (e.g., mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, and 120-n) via associated spot beams 150 (e.g., spot beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-n), respectively. In some embodiments, communication may be coordinated at a central server 510. That is, beam manager 505 may coordinate the use of resource elements by the spot beams at central server 510. Beam manager 505 and central server 510 may be examples of beam managers and central servers discussed herein, such as beam managers 175 and 805 and central server 180, or aspects thereof.

[0091] In some embodiments, the beam manager 505 may be configured to communicate with all of the mobile terminals in the system. The spot beams may each be formed and moved by a beamformer as discussed herein. Figures 5A and 5B represent the communication flow between the beam manager 505 (e.g., at the central server 510) and the mobile terminal 120 at two different times.

[0092] 5A depicts a communication flow as the beam manager 505 obtains information associated with the mobile terminal 120 and the spot beam 150. Communication may flow from the mobile terminal 120 through the spot beam 150 to the beam manager 505, as depicted by arrow 520. In some embodiments, the information may include current information such as location and other information that may be used by the beam manager 505 to determine when an interference event occurs between the spot beams 150. The information may also include request information including the amount of data in a queue (e.g., a forward link queue or a return link queue), user information (e.g., users connected to each mobile terminal 120, services provisioned for each of the connected users), or requested data rates for the next time period.

[0093] FIG. 5B depicts a communication flow when the beam manager 505 (e.g., at the central server 510) transmits information associated with the mobile terminal 120 and the spot beam 150. The communication may flow from the beam manager 505 to the mobile terminal 120 via the spot beam 150, as depicted by arrow 525. In some embodiments, the information may include reallocation information, such as resource element allocation changes to be made to the spot beam, or beam power allocation. In some embodiments, the reallocation information may also include a desired time for implementing the changes. The reallocation information may be determined by the beam manager 505 based on current information obtained from the spot beam 150 and the mobile terminal 120. As discussed with respect to FIG. 6, obtaining current information (e.g., FIG. 5A) and transmitting reallocation information (e.g., FIG. 5B) may occur during the same time period, which may be repeated. In some embodiments, the beam manager 505 may transmit the reallocation information at the end of the time period for use during the next time period.

[0094] 6 shows an example timing diagram supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Timing diagram 600 represents the timing of certain communications between mobile terminal 120 / spot beam 150 of FIGS. 5A and 5B and beam manager 505 (e.g., at central server 510).

[0095] The timing diagram 600 may consist of multiple periods 610 (e.g., periods 610-1 and 610-2). For example, a first period 610-1 may extend from time t1 to time t7, and a second period 610-2 may extend from time t7 to time t 13 In some embodiments, the periods 610 are of equal duration. The periods 610 may be repeated such that the periods may include similar activities performed at similar times within each period. For example, actions performed at times t2, t3, t4, t5, and t6 of a first period 610-1 may be repeated at times t8, t9, t10, and t11 of a second period 610-2. 10 , t11 , and t 12 For ease of discussion, only activity associated with the "current" period (e.g., the first period 610-1) is discussed herein. It is understood that the discussion may also apply to similar actions in other repeating periods 610.

[0096] During each period 610, one or more of the mobile terminals 120 may move, and the beams 150 associated with the mobile terminals may track the movement (e.g., as controlled by the beam manager 505). That is, the coverage area of ​​each of the beams 150 associated with the mobile terminals 120 may be adjusted during each period 610 to track the movement of the mobile terminal.

[0097] Time t1 represents the start of the first period 610-1. At time t1, the spot beams 150 may provide communication services to the mobile terminals 120 via a set of resource elements. Each spot beam 150 may be assigned to one or more of the resource elements by the beam manager 505 as discussed herein.

[0098] Between times t1 and t2, the beam manager 505 may obtain (e.g., collect) information associated with the mobile terminals 120 and spot beams 150 in the satellite communication system. The information may include information associated with the beams and / or mobile terminals for the current time period, such as the current location of each mobile terminal, the number of users connected to each mobile terminal, the amount of data waiting to be transmitted from a queue (e.g., a forward link queue or a return link queue), coverage area information associated with the spot beams, the current resources to which each spot beam is allocated, and other information.

[0099] Between times t3 and t5, beam manager 505 may determine resource element allocation for spot beam 150. In some embodiments, the resource element allocation may be based on information obtained from mobile terminals during the current time period prior to time t3 (e.g., current locations, connected users, request information). In some embodiments, the resource element allocation may be based on the respective locations of the mobile terminals.

[0100] Starting at time t3, to determine resource element allocation, the beam manager 505 may determine interference events associated with the beams 150 for the current time period. In some embodiments, the interference events may be determined by the beam manager 505 based at least in part on the interference metrics of the beams. For example, an interference event between the beams 150 may be determined to be occurring during the current time period in which the interference metrics of one or more of the beams meet a threshold. Some possible interference metrics and thresholds are discussed with respect to FIG. 4.

[0101] Based on the determined interference event, the beam manager 505 may determine a subset of beams 150 for reassignment to different resource elements. For example, when an interference event is determined to be occurring between two beams 150, the beam manager 505 may determine that one or both beams 150 should be added to the subset for reassignment to different resource elements.

[0102] For each beamformed spot beam 150 in the subset, the beam manager 505 may determine a respective one or more resource elements to associate with the spot beam for the next time period. By doing this at the central server 510 for all spot beams in the system, the beam manager 505 can track which resource elements are associated with which beamformed spot beams 150 at a global level and therefore determine which resource elements are best used for each beam 150. For each beam 150 in the subset, the respective one or more resource elements may differ from the resource elements to which the beam 150 is currently assigned. The respective one or more resource elements for all spot beams in the subset may be determined before time t4.

[0103] Beginning at time t4, the beam manager 505 may direct the reassignment of a subset of beams to one or more respective resource elements for use during the next time period (e.g., 610-2). This may include preparing various components, such as frequency converters, schedulers, and polarization components, associated with each beam. The directing may also include transmitting reassignment information to associated mobile terminals 120 via spot beams 150. The reassignment information may include a list of one or more resource elements for the associated beams to use during the next time period. In some embodiments, the reassignment information may also include a specific time for performing the reassignment. In some embodiments, each mobile terminal associated with the subset of beams is notified of the reassignment. The preparation of the various components and / or the transmission of the reassignment information may be completed before time t5.

[0104] At time t6, various components associated with the subset of beams may implement resource element allocation changes directed by the beam manager 505 for use during the next period (e.g., period 610-2). For example, the beam manager 505 may cause the various components to change one or more characteristics of each data stream used by the subset of beams (e.g., by changing the frequency, time slot, and / or polarization), which may result in each beam 150 being reassigned to one or more resource elements determined by the beam manager 505 prior to time t4.

[0105] In some embodiments, reallocating a set of beams to different resource elements to improve interference between beams may include assigning all beams in the set to new resource elements. In some embodiments, reallocating a set of beams to different resource elements to improve interference between beams may include assigning some of the beams to new resource elements and leaving the assignments of other beams unchanged.

[0106] Time t6 may occur any time after time t5. In some embodiments, time t6 may correspond to a desired specific time (e.g., period 610) included with the reallocation information sent to the mobile terminal. The allocation change may trigger the next period (e.g., period 610-2) to begin.

[0107] 7A-7C illustrate example scenarios 700-a, 700-b, and 700-c of allocation of different types of resource elements to support mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Scenarios 700-a, 700-b, and 700-c correspond to scenarios in which beams are associated with resource elements after at least some of the associated beams may have a potential interference event (e.g., detected by beam manager 175). That is, the scenarios are shown after beam manager 175 reassigns beams to ameliorate interference. In each scenario, each mobile terminal is assigned to its own beam.

[0108] For simplicity, each beam is represented by its coverage area, and interference events are directly associated with overlapping coverage areas. That is, in scenarios 700-a, 700-b, and 700-c, interference events may occur between beams using the same resource elements when corresponding coverage areas overlap. Thus, in scenarios 700-a, 700-b, and 700-c, the interference metric may include a comparison of the coverage area to a threshold and may accommodate overlapping coverage areas such that the interference metric threshold is met when the coverage areas overlap.

[0109] Scenario 700-a illustrates four mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d assigned by beam manager 175 to four beams 150-a, 150-b, 150-c, and 150-d, respectively, to provide communication services to the mobile terminals. Mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, and 120-c are sufficiently close to one another such that the coverage areas of associated beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-c overlap one another. Thus, the interference metric of any of the respective beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-c may meet a threshold when the beams are assigned to the same resource elements. To avoid (or improve) interference, beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-c may be assigned (or reassigned) by beam manager 175 to different resource elements (e.g., resource elements A, B, and C, respectively).

[0110] Mobile terminal 120-d is positioned at a distance from other mobile terminals such that the coverage area of ​​associated beam 150-d does not overlap with the coverage area of ​​any of the other beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-c. Therefore, the interference metric of beam 150-d may not meet a threshold even if beam 150-d is assigned to the same resource element as the other beams. Therefore, beam 150-d may be assigned to any of resource elements A, B, or C by beam manager 175.

[0111] In some embodiments, a beam may be assigned to two or more resource elements. For example, in scenario 700-a, beam 150-d is assigned to all three resource elements A, B, and C by beam manager 175. Assigning a beam to two or more resource elements may provide the beam with more capacity (e.g., data rate), which may be beneficial in various ways. For example, in locations with many mobile terminals, assigning a beam to multiple resource elements may allow separate resource elements to be used by a single beam in providing communication services to multiple mobile terminals, ensuring that all mobile terminals remain connected. In locations with fewer mobile terminals, assigning a beam to multiple resource elements may allow multiple resource elements to be used in providing communication services to a single mobile terminal, increasing the total system capacity and data rate that the mobile terminal can achieve. For example, as shown in scenario 700-a, if the data rate associated with resource elements A, B, and C is 10 Mbps, then the data rate associated with each of beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-c may be 10 Mbps, and the data rate associated with beam 150-d may be the sum of the data rates associated with resource elements A, B, and C (e.g., 30 Mbps). Thus, beams 150-a, 150-b, and 150-c may provide less capacity to corresponding mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, and 120-c, while beam 150-d may simultaneously provide much greater capacity to mobile terminal 120-d.

[0112] In some embodiments, the quantity of resource elements assigned to a beam may be set or adjusted based on the number of mobile terminals located within the coverage area of ​​the beam. For example, beam manager 175 may assign a greater quantity of resource elements to a beam that has many mobile terminals located within its coverage area. This may be beneficial, for example, in or near an airport where there may be many mobile terminals within a small area.

[0113] In scenario 700-b, mobile terminal 120-c and its associated beam 150-c are omitted, and one of the other beams 150-a or 150-b may be assigned by beam manager 175 to the resource element to which beam 150-c was previously assigned. For example, in scenario 700-b, beam 150-c is assigned (or reassigned) by beam manager 175 to resource element C in addition to resource element B, which may result in a higher data rate for beam 150-b (e.g., 20 Mbps vs. 10 Mbps in scenario 700-a). Because beam 150-a is assigned to resource element A, no interference event may occur between beams 150-a and 150-b, even though the coverage areas of beams 150-a and 150-b overlap.

[0114] In some embodiments, the allocation of resource elements and / or power to beams may be performed such that different users may be given similar or different capabilities relative to one another. For example, different customers may require different speeds and priorities based on contracts, service layer agreements, business values, etc.

[0115] In some embodiments, the power associated with a beam may be used to adjust the capacity of the beam associated with one or more resource elements. For example, setting the power level of a beam by the beam manager 175 to less than the beam's full power level may result in a lower data rate associated with each resource element to which the beam is assigned. For example, as shown in scenario 700-b, if the power of beam 150-c is set to 33% by the beam manager 175, the resulting capacity associated with each beam may be reduced such that the capacity (data rate) of spot beam 150-c associated with each resource element is also reduced (e.g., 3.33 Mbps vs. 10 Mbps per resource elements A, B, and C in scenario 700-a). In some embodiments, the power may be adjusted by the beam manager 175 by transmitting a signal to the mobile terminal representing an adjustment to be made to the transmit power associated with the mobile terminal. The power of the beam may be adjusted accordingly using beamforming coefficients and / or by adjusting the transmit power from one or more antenna elements.

[0116] In some embodiments, adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) changes may be transmitted to mobile terminals by beam with the signal. In ACM, each terminal's modcode may be adaptively tuned over time to match the terminal's current requirements. When the power associated with a beam is adjusted, the modcode of the terminal associated with the beam may take time to "catch up" to the data. This time may be significant, especially for large instantaneous power changes. Data transmission to and from the mobile terminal may be significantly slowed until the modcode catches up. By including the ACM changes with the signal, the mobile terminal may more quickly determine the modcode to use, thereby reducing or preventing the catch-up time. Furthermore, no round-trip feedback is required by the mobile terminal to determine the modcode. The same benefits can be achieved by including the ACM changes with the signal when interference changes are expected.

[0117] In some embodiments, the quantity and power of resource elements associated with a beam may be used in conjunction with one another to adjust the beam's capacity. For example, as shown in scenario 700-b, the power of beam 150-d, dedicated to beam-associated resource elements A, B, and C, may be set to 33% so that the data rate of beam 150-d (e.g., 10 Mbps) may be equivalent to that of using only one of the resource elements at full power.

[0118] In some embodiments, the power associated with a beam and / or the number of resource elements to which the beam is assigned may be set or adjusted by the beam manager 175 based on the mobile terminal or multiple mobile terminals associated with the beam. For example, the power, the number of resource elements (e.g., time slots, and / or frequency channels) may be based on a data rate (or desired data rate) associated with the mobile terminal. That is, the beam manager 175 may set or adjust the number of time slots, the number of frequency channels assigned to each beam, and / or the power level associated with the beam to provide the desired data rate for the mobile terminal. In some embodiments, the data rate may be based on a user request associated with the mobile terminal. For example, scenario 700-c illustrates beam 150-a having a data rate of 1 Mbps based on a 10% power level to match the user request of mobile terminal 120-a of 1 Mbps, and beam 150-b having a data rate of 20 Mbps based on the number of resource elements to match the user request of mobile terminal 120-a of 20 Mbps.

[0119] In some embodiments, the power associated with a beam and / or the quantity of resource elements to which the beam is assigned may be set or adjusted based on business considerations associated with the mobile terminal. For example, the power associated with a beam and / or the quantity of resource elements to which the beam is assigned may be based on one or more of a contracted link speed, a contracted priority, a service layer agreement, or a business value associated with the mobile terminal. In some embodiments, the aggregate power of all beams assigned to a given resource element may have a fixed (e.g., limited) value. For example, a certain amount of power may be dedicated to communications using a particular resource element, and the certain amount of power may be divided among the beams assigned to the resource element based on, for example, user requests or provisioned data rates, or both. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7B, allocating less power (e.g., 33%) to beam 150-d to use resource element B may allow for allocating additional power to beam 150-b to use resource element B. The beamforming coefficients used to form beams using the resource elements may effectively divide the power among the beams. Note that although Figures 7B and 7C show a linear relationship between power and data rate, the relationship may be non-linear.

[0120] 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a beam manager 805 that supports mobile satellite beam resource allocation according to embodiments disclosed herein. The beam manager 805 may be an embodiment of the beam manager 175 of FIG. 1. The beam manager 805 may include a bus 825, a contention avoidance manager 870, a memory 830, code 835, a processor 840, a beamformer 845, and a beam signal processor 850, and may be configured to control beam tracking for a mobile terminal (e.g., mobile terminal 120) via an antenna array 810, as well as resource allocation and contention avoidance for a beamformed spot beam (e.g., beamformed spot beam 150).

[0121] The beam manager 805 may be located within the terrestrial network (e.g., terrestrial network 135 of FIG. 1 ) or the satellite network (e.g., satellite network 101 of FIG. 1 ) of the satellite communications system. Alternatively, the beam manager 805 may be split between the terrestrial network and the satellite network. In one embodiment (e.g., corresponding to a GBBF configuration), all components of the beam manager 805 may be located in the terrestrial network. In another embodiment (e.g., corresponding to an OBBF configuration), the beamformer 845 may be located in the satellite network (e.g., on one or more of the satellites), and the remaining components of the beam manager 805 may each be located in either the terrestrial network or the satellite network. In some embodiments, a distributed implementation may be used. For example, one or more components of the beam manager 805, or portions thereof, may reside on different servers (e.g., may be hosted in the cloud). In some embodiments, the beam manager 805 may be located in a single entity (e.g., central server 180).

[0122] Antenna array 810 may be an example of an antenna of satellite network 101 of FIG. 1 and may include antenna elements 815. In some embodiments, one or more of antenna elements 815 may be or may include an antenna panel. Spacing of antenna elements 815 may be evenly distributed throughout the aperture of antenna array 810, or spacing of antenna elements 815 may vary throughout antenna array 810. In some embodiments, a first antenna array 810 may be included in the ground segment and a second antenna array 810 (e.g., one or more antenna arrays coupled to each other using transponders) may be included in the space segment.

[0123] The bus 825 may represent an interface over which signals may be exchanged between components of the beam manager 805 and a location (e.g., a central location) that may be used to distribute signals to the signal processing components of the beam manager 805 (e.g., the contention avoidance manager 870, the beam signal processor 850, the beamformer 845). The bus 825 may include one or more wired interfaces. Additionally or alternatively, the bus 825 may be a wireless interface used to wirelessly communicate signals between the signal processing components, for example, according to a communication protocol. The beamformer 845 may be coupled to the antenna elements 815 via one or more wired or wireless interfaces.

[0124] The memory 830 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 may be possible. The memory 830 may store computer-readable and computer-executable code 835. The code may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 840, cause the beam manager 805 to perform various functions described herein. The code 835 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as system memory or another type of memory. In some cases, the code 835 may not be directly executable by the processor 840, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause the computer to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 830 may include a basic I / O system (BIOS), which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices, among other things.

[0125] The processor 840 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general-purpose processor), a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor 840 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 830) to cause the beam manager 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation). For example, the processor 840 and the memory 830 may be configured to perform various functions described herein.

[0126] The beam signal processor 850 may be configured to process (e.g., demodulate, decode) the received beam signals 854 received from the beamformer 845. The beam signal processor 850 may decode data symbols included in the received beam signals 854 to obtain received beam data signals 864. The information (e.g., packets) in the received beam data signals 864 may be passed to a destination device (e.g., via network(s) 125). The beam signal processor 850 may be configured to process (e.g., encode, modulate) the transmit beam data signals 862 to obtain transmit beam signals 852 to transmit to the beamformer 845. The transmit beam data signals 862 may include information (e.g., packets) received (e.g., via network(s) 125) for transmission to the terminal 120.

[0127] The contention avoidance manager 870 may be configured to determine resource element changes for each beam and direct the execution of those resource element changes. For example, when a new time slot is assigned to a beam, the contention avoidance manager 870 may calculate new beamforming coefficients based on CSI from all beams active in that time slot and may also determine the desired power, modulation, and / or coding for that time slot by calculation or by requesting signal-to-noise ratio reports from terminals associated with the beam. In another example, when a beam is moved to a new frequency range or channel, the CSI and beamforming coefficients from the old channel may not be applicable to the new channel due to variations in RF characteristics between channels. The contention avoidance manager 870 may cause a channel probing signal to be transmitted on the new frequency channel and instruct terminals associated with the beam to switch to the new channel, process the probing signal, switch back to the original channel, and report CSI information to the beam manager 805. To avoid packet loss during this operation, scheduling of data packets may be suspended during reception of the channel probing signal on the new channel. The conflict resolution manager 870 may include a terminal tracker 820 and an allocation manager 875. In some embodiments, the beam manager 805 may be located in a single entity (e.g., the central server 180).

[0128] The terminal tracking device 820 may be configured to determine information for the beamformer 845 to use in forming beamformed spot beams (e.g., beamformed spot beams 150 of FIG. 1) using the antenna elements 815. To determine the information for forming the beamformed spot beams, the terminal tracking device 820 may identify a set of terminals (e.g., mobile terminals 120 of FIG. 1) that are assigned as reference terminals and may determine spatial information associated with the reference terminals. The terminal tracking device 820 may determine a set of beamforming coefficients (e.g., phase shifts, amplitude components) that the beamformer 845 may use to generate beamformed spot beams having individual coverage areas directed to the spatial information associated with the reference terminals.

[0129] The terminal tracking device 820 may determine beamforming coefficients for each beamformed spot beam to separate signals transmitted through the beamformed spot beams from one another, for example, by emphasizing signals transmitted within the beamformed spot beam and canceling interference from signals transmitted within other beamformed spot beams. The beamforming coefficients may be included in an M×N matrix, where the value of M may indicate the number of antennas, the value of N may indicate the number of spatial layers, and the value of N may be less than or equal to the value of M.

[0130] In some embodiments, the beamforming coefficients may be determined by one or more satellites 105. In some embodiments, the beamforming coefficients may be received by one or more satellites from one or more ground stations (e.g., network device 130 or other stations in terrestrial network 135) after terminal tracking unit 820 determines the beamforming coefficients.

[0131] The allocation manager 875 may be configured to perform beam resource allocation and reallocation, including adjusting the resource elements used by the beams. For example, the allocation manager 875 may determine one or more frequency ranges or channels (e.g., frequency channel 210 in FIG. 2B ), one or more time periods and / or time slots (e.g., time period 215, time slot t in FIG. 2B ), and / or polarization for the allocation of each beamformed spot beam. To allocate beams to the determined resource elements, the allocation manager 875 may include various components, such as a frequency converter, a scheduler, and a polarization component. The allocation manager 875 may be further configured to track which resource elements each beamformed spot beam is assigned to and determine when beam reallocation may be desired. In some embodiments, the allocation manager 875 may comprise separate subsystems. For example, one subsystem may determine the resources to allocate to each beam, and another subsystem may coordinate the process of seamlessly reallocating resources so that packets are not dropped. In some embodiments, the allocation manager 875 may be divided among multiple devices and / or locations, hi some embodiments, the allocation manager 875 may be located in a single entity (e.g., central server 180).

[0132] In some embodiments, for transmission of a beamformed spot beam via antenna element 815, allocation manager 875 may determine a frequency range or channel, as well as a time period and time slot to apply to a set of transmit beam signals 852 associated with the beamformed spot beam. Beamformer 845 may apply a set of transmit beamforming coefficients to the set of transmit beam signals 852 based on the frequency range or channel to obtain component signals 856 for transmission via antenna element 815.

[0133] In some embodiments, for reception of a beamformed spot beam via antenna element 815, terminal tracking device 820 may determine a set of receive beamforming coefficients based on a frequency range or channel determined by allocation manager 875 to obtain a set of component signals 856. The frequency range or channel, as well as the time period and time slot, may be applied to component signals 856 by allocation manager 875 or beamformer 845 to obtain a set of receive beam signals 854 associated with the beamformed spot beam.

[0134] In some embodiments, terminal tracker 820, allocation manager 875, beamformer 845, beam signal processor 850, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., in communications management circuitry). The hardware may include a processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other PLD, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof configured as or otherwise supporting means for performing the functions described in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the processor and a memory coupled to the processor may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein (e.g., by the processor executing instructions stored in the memory).

[0135] Additionally or alternatively, terminal tracker 820, allocation manager 875, beamformer 845, beam signal processor 850, or various combinations or components thereof, may be implemented in code 835 executed by central processor 840 (e.g., as communications management software or firmware). When implemented in code 835 executed by processor 840, the functions of terminal tracker 820, allocation manager 875, beamformer 845, beam signal processor 850, 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., configured as or otherwise supporting a means for performing the functions described in this disclosure).

[0136] 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a conflict resolution manager 920 supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. Conflict resolution manager 920 may be an embodiment of an aspect of conflict resolution manager 870 as described with reference to FIG. 8. Conflict resolution manager 920, or various components thereof, may be an embodiment of a means for performing various aspects of mobile satellite beam resource allocation as described herein. For example, conflict resolution manager 920 may include a communications manager 925, an allocation director 930, an interference event determiner 935, a beam subset determiner 940, a beamforming manager 945, an allocation manager 950, a resource element manager 955, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0137] The communications manager 925 may be configured as or may otherwise represent a means for providing communications services to a plurality of mobile terminals via a set of beamformed spot beams of a satellite communications system, as discussed herein. Each mobile terminal may be assigned to a beamformed spot beam. In some embodiments, the communications manager 925 may be configured as or may otherwise represent a means for providing communications services to a first, second, and third mobile terminal via a first, second, and third beamformed spot beam, respectively, as discussed herein. In some embodiments, the communications manager 925 may comprise one or more of the other components of the contention avoidance manager 920. In some embodiments, the communications manager 925 may comprise an allocation director 930, an interference event determiner 935, a beam subset determiner 940, a beamforming manager 945, an allocation manager 950, and a resource element manager 955. In some embodiments, the communications manager 925 may comprise a beamforming manager 945, an interference event determiner 935, and an allocation director 930.

[0138] The beamforming manager 945 may also be configured as or may otherwise port a means for adjusting the coverage area of ​​each of the set of beamformed spot beams over multiple time periods to track the movement of multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system, as discussed herein. In some embodiments, the beamforming manager 945 may also be configured as or may otherwise port a means for adjusting the coverage area of ​​each of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams over multiple time periods to track the movement of first, second, and third mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system, as discussed herein.

[0139] Allocation manager 950 may be configured as or otherwise support a means for performing resource element allocation and reallocation for beamformed spot beams as discussed herein. Allocation manager 950 may be an example of an embodiment of aspects of allocation manager 875 as described with reference to FIG. 8. In some embodiments, allocation manager 950 may comprise one or more of the other components of conflict avoidance manager 920. In some embodiments, allocation manager 950 may comprise interference event determiner 935, beam subset determiner 940, resource element manager 955, and assignment director 930. In some embodiments, allocation manager 950 may be executed in a single entity (e.g., central server 180).

[0140] The interference event determiner 935 may be configured as, or may otherwise support, a means for determining (e.g., at a central server) one or more interference events associated with a set of beamformed spot beams for a current time period. The determination may be based on interference metrics of the beamformed spot beams that each meet a threshold. In some embodiments, the interference event determiner 935 may be configured as, or may otherwise support, a means for determining that the interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams each meet a threshold and the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam fails to meet the threshold. The determination may be based on adjusting the coverage areas of each of the beamformed spot beams.

[0141] The beam subset determiner 940 may be configured as or may otherwise represent a means for determining (e.g., at a central server) a subset of the set of beamformed spot beams for resource element reallocation associated with the next time period. The determination may be based on determining one or more interference events for the current time period.

[0142] The resource element manager 955 may be configured as or may otherwise include a means for determining (e.g., at a central server) one or more resource elements to associate with each beamformed spot beam for the next time period. For each beamformed spot beam, the one or more resource elements for the next time period may differ from the one or more resource elements to which the beamformed spot beam is assigned for the current time period.

[0143] Allocation director 930 may be configured as, or may otherwise port, a means for directing (e.g., at a central server) the assignment of each beamformed spot beam to one or more resource elements. Allocation director 930 may also be configured as, or may otherwise port, a means for directing the reallocation of each beamformed spot beam to its respective one or more resource elements for the next time period. In some embodiments, allocation director 930 may be configured as, or may otherwise port, a means for assigning a first beamformed spot beam to a first resource element, a means for assigning a second beamformed spot beam to a second resource element, and a means for assigning a third beamformed spot beam to the first and second resource elements. The assignment may be based on a determination that the interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams each meet a threshold and that the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam fails to meet a threshold.

[0144] In some embodiments, aspects of one or more components of conflict avoidance manager 870 or 920 may be found in other components of the beam / terminal block or even outside the beam / terminal block. For example, processor 840 and memory 830 may be used in performing one or more functions associated with components of conflict avoidance manager 920.

[0145] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 for supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. The operations of method 1000 may be performed by a satellite communications system or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1000 may be performed by a beam manager such as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 9. In some embodiments, a processor may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the beam manager to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the beam manager may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware.

[0146] At 1005, the method may include providing communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals via a set of beamformed spot beams of a satellite communication system, each mobile terminal of the plurality of mobile terminals being assigned to a beamformed spot beam of the set of beamformed spot beams. The operations of 1005 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1005 may be performed by communications manager 925, as described with reference to FIG. 9 . In some embodiments, providing the communication services may include operations 1010, 1015, 1020, 1025, 1030, 1035, and 1040.

[0147] At 1010, the method may include assigning each beamformed spot beam of the set of beamformed spot beams to one or more first resource elements of the set of resource elements. The operations of 1010 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1010 may be performed by an allocation director 930 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0148] At 1015, the method may include adjusting the coverage area of ​​each of the set of beamformed spot beams over multiple time periods to track movement of multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system. The operations of 1015 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1015 may be performed by a beamforming manager 945 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0149] At 1020, the method may include performing, by the central server, resource element allocation for the set of beamformed spot beams. Performing the resource element allocation may include operations of 1025, 1030, 1035, and 1040. The operation of 1020 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operation of 1020 may be performed by an allocation manager 950 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0150] At 1025, performing resource element allocation may include determining, by the central server for each time period, one or more interference events associated with the set of beamformed spot beams for the current time period based at least in part on interference metrics for each of the beamformed spot beams in the set of beamformed spot beams that meet a threshold. The operations of 1025 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1025 may be performed by an interference event determiner 935 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0151] At 1030, performing resource element allocation may include, for each time period, determining, by the central server, a subset of the set of beamformed spot beams for resource element reallocation associated with the next time period based at least in part on determining one or more interference events for the current time period. The operations of 1030 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1030 may be performed by a beam subset determiner 940 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0152] At 1035, performing resource element allocation may include, for each time period, determining, by the central server, one or more second resource elements of each of the set of resource elements associated with each beamformed spot beam of the subset of beamformed spot beams for the next time period such that an interference metric of the beamformed spot beam of the subset of beamformed spot beams each fails to satisfy a threshold, where, for each beamformed spot beam of the subset of beamformed spot beams, the respective one or more second resource elements for the next time period are different from the one or more first resource elements to which the beamformed spot beam is assigned for the current time period. The operations of 1035 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1035 may be performed by a resource element manager 955 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0153] At 1040, performing resource element allocation may include directing, for each time period, by the central server, a reallocation of each beamformed spot beam of the subset of beamformed spot beams to a respective one or more second resource elements for the next time period. The operations of 1040 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1040 may be performed by an allocation director 930 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0154] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for supporting mobile satellite beam resource allocation in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. The operations of method 1100 may be performed by a beam manager or components thereof, as described herein. For example, the operations of method 1100 may be performed by a beam manager such as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 9. In some embodiments, a processor may execute a set of instructions to control functional elements of the beam manager to perform the described functions. Additionally or alternatively, the beam manager may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware.

[0155] At 1105, the method may include providing communication services to first, second, and third mobile terminals via first, second, and third beamformed spot beams, respectively, of the satellite communication system. The operations of 1105 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1105 may be performed by a communications manager 925, as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0156] At 1110, the method may include allocating each of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams to one or more resource elements of a set of resource elements including the first resource element and the second resource element. The operations of 1110 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1110 may be performed by an allocation director 930 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0157] At 1115, the method may include adjusting the coverage areas of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams, respectively, over multiple time periods to track movement of the first, second, and third mobile terminals within the coverage areas of the satellite communications system. The operations of 1115 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1115 may be performed by a beamforming manager 945 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0158] At 1120, the method may include determining, by adjusting the coverage areas of each of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams for a first period of the plurality of periods, that interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams each satisfy a threshold, and that an interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam fails to satisfy the threshold. The operations of 1120 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1120 may be performed by an interference event determiner 935 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0159] At 1125, the method may include assigning the first beamformed spot beam to the first resource element, the second beamformed spot beam to the second resource element, and the third beamformed spot beam to the first and second resource elements based at least in part on a determination that the interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams each satisfy a threshold and that the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam fails to satisfy the threshold. The operations of 1125 may be performed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In some embodiments, aspects of the operations of 1125 may be performed by an allocation director 930 as described with reference to FIG. 9.

[0160] In some examples, an apparatus as described herein may perform a method(s), such as method 1000 and / or method 1100. The apparatus may include features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor) for performing the method(s), or any combination thereof.

[0161] It should be noted that these methods describe example implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified so that other implementations are possible. In some embodiments, two or more aspects of the methods 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.

[0162] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the specification may be represented as voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0163] The various example blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an 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. A 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 in combination with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0164] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the accompanying claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. The features implementing the functions may also be located in various physical locations, including being distributed such that portions of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0165] Computer-readable media may include both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Non-transitory storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CDROM) or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means 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. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. 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, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included within the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with a laser. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0166] As used herein, including the claims, "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more") indicates an inclusive list, such as, 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). Also, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an example step described as "based on condition A" could be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" is to be interpreted the same as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0167] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Furthermore, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a dash and a second label that distinguishes between the similar components. If only a first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components with the same first reference label, regardless of a second reference label or other subsequent reference labels.

[0168] The description set forth herein with reference to the accompanying drawings describes exemplary configurations and does not represent every embodiment that may be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary," as used herein, means "serving as an embodiment, instance, or illustration," and not "preferred" or "advantageous over other embodiments." The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology. However, these technologies may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described embodiments.

[0169] The description herein is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. 1. A method comprising: The present invention provides a method for providing a communication service to a plurality of mobile terminals (120) via a set of beamformed spot beams (150) of a satellite communication system (100), wherein each mobile terminal (120) of the plurality of mobile terminals is assigned to a beamformed spot beam (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams, and providing the communication service includes: assigning each beamformed spot beam (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams to one or more first resource elements of a set of resource elements; adjusting the coverage area (160) of each of the set of beamformed spot beams (150) over a plurality of time periods (610) to track the movement of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) within a coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100); performing, by a central server (180), resource element allocation for the set of beamformed spot beams (150); performing the resource element allocation includes, for each period of the plurality of periods: determining, by the central server (180), one or more interference events associated with the set of beamformed spot beams (150) for a current time period (610) based at least in part on interference metrics of the beamformed spot beams (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams that meet a threshold; determining, by the central server (180), a subset of the set of beamformed spot beams for resource element reallocation associated with a next time period (610) based at least in part on determining the one or more interference events for the current time period (610); and determining, by the central server (180), one or more second resource elements of each of the set of resource elements to associate with each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams (150) for the next time period (610) such that the interference metric of the beamformed spot beams (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams (150) each fails to satisfy the threshold, wherein for each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams (150), the respective one or more second resource elements for the next time period (610) are different from the one or more first resource elements to which the beamformed spot beam (150) is assigned for the current time period (610); and directing, by the central server (180), a reallocation of each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams (150) to the respective one or more second resource elements for the next period (610).

2. For each period (610), directing the reallocation for the next period (610) comprises:

2. The method of claim 1, comprising instructing, by the central server, one or more satellites associated with a subset of the beamformed spot beams to perform the reassignment at a specific time.

3. For each period (610), directing the reallocation for the next period (610) comprises:

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, comprising notifying, by the central server, each mobile terminal associated with a subset of the beamformed spot beams of the reallocation.

4. For each time period (610), performing the resource element allocation includes: The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising collecting, by the central server (180), information associated with the plurality of mobile terminals (120) and the set of beamformed spot beams (150) for the period (610), and determining the one or more interference events is based at least in part on the collected information.

5. For each time period (610), performing the resource element allocation includes:

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the central server (180), locations of each of the plurality of mobile terminals (120) for the current period (610), and wherein determining the one or more interference events is based at least in part on determining the respective locations of the plurality of mobile terminals.

6. Determining, for each time period (610), a subset of the beamformed spot beams (150) for resource element reallocation comprises: determining, by the central server (180), that an interference metric of a first beamformed spot beam (150) associated with a first mobile terminal (120) satisfies a threshold due to the adjustment of the coverage area (160) of the first beamformed spot beam (150); and determining, by the central server (180), that a subset of the beamformed spot beams (150) includes the first beamformed spot beam (150), based at least in part on the determination that the interference metric of the first beamformed spot beam (150) satisfies the threshold.

7. Instructing, for each time period (610), the reallocation of each beamformed spot beam (150) for the next time period comprises:

7. The method of claim 6, comprising sending a control signal by the central server (180) to the first mobile terminal (120).

8. For each time period (610), performing the resource element allocation includes: The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising determining, by the central server (180), for the current time period (610), one or more respective resource elements for each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams, wherein determining the one or more interference events is based at least in part on determining the one or more respective resource elements for each beamformed spot beam (150) for the current time period (610).

9. The method of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein each period (610) comprises the same duration.

10. The interference metric of the beamformed spot beam (150) is: measuring interference between beamformed spot beams (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams; an estimated interference between beamformed spot beams (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams; correlation between the channels of said plurality of mobile terminals (120); or The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the method is based on one or more of: a distance between mobile terminals (120) of the plurality of mobile terminals;

11. 1. A method comprising: providing communication services to first, second, and third mobile terminals (120) via first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) of a satellite communication system (100), respectively, wherein providing the communication services includes: assigning each of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) to one or more resource elements of a set of resource elements including a first resource element and a second resource element; adjusting the coverage areas (160) of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) respectively over a plurality of time periods to track movement of the first, second, and third mobile terminals (120) within a coverage area (155) of the satellite communications system (100); determining that by adjusting the respective coverage areas of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) for a first period (610) of the plurality of periods, interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy a threshold value and an interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold value; and assigning the first beamformed spot beam (150) to the first resource element, the second beamformed spot beam (150) to the second resource element, and the third beamformed spot beam (150) to the first and second resource elements based at least in part on the determination that the interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy the threshold and the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold.

12. Providing the communication service includes: determining that the interference metric of the first beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold and that the interference metric of the second and third beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy the threshold by adjusting the respective coverage areas of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) for a second period (610) of the plurality of periods after the first period (610); 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: reallocating the first beamformed spot beam to the first and second resource elements, the second beamformed spot beam to the second resource elements, and the third beamformed spot beam to the first resource elements based at least in part on the determination that the interference metric of the first beamformed spot beam fails to meet the threshold and the interference metrics of the second and third beamformed spot beams each meet the threshold.

13. 13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the interference metric for the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) each includes a comparison of the coverage area (160) of the first, second, or third beamformed spot beam (150) associated with the interference metric with the coverage area (160) of one or more of the other beamformed spot beams (150) of the first, second, or third beamformed spot beam (150).

14. Providing the communication service includes:

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising: further assigning one of the first beamformed spot beam (150) or the second beamformed spot beam (150) to a third resource element of the set of resource elements, and the third beamformed spot beam (150) to the third resource element, based at least in part on the determination that the interference metric of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) each meets the threshold and the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam (150) fails to meet the threshold.

15. 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the number of resource elements allocated to each of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) is based at least in part on the number of mobile terminals (120) located within the coverage area (160) of the respective beamformed spot beams (150).

16. 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the quantity of resource elements to which the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) are each assigned is based at least in part on a data rate associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

17. 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the quantity of resource elements to which the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) are each assigned is based at least in part on a user request associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

18. The number of resource elements to which the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) are respectively allocated is a contracted link rate associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150); a contracted priority associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150); a service layer agreement associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150); or The method of any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the method is based at least in part on one or more of: a business value associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

19. 19. The method of any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein a power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150) is based at least in part on a desired data rate of the first mobile terminal (120).

20. Providing the communication service includes:

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising adjusting the power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150) based at least in part on a data rate or user request associated with the first mobile terminal (120).

21. Adjusting the power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150) comprises: transmitting a signal to the first mobile terminal (120), the signal indicating an adjustment to be made to a power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150); and transmitting an adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) change to the first mobile terminal (120) along with the signal.

22. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 21, wherein the first and second resource elements each are a combination of at least a time resource and a frequency resource.

23. A system for satellite communications (100), comprising: one or more satellites (105); a beam manager (175) configured to provide communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals (120) via a set of beamformed spot beams (150), each mobile terminal (120) of the plurality of mobile terminals being assigned to a beamformed spot beam (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams, for providing said communication services; assigning each beamformed spot beam (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams to one or more first resource elements of a set of resource elements; a beam manager (175) configured to adjust the coverage area (160) of each of the set of beamformed spot beams (150) over multiple time periods to track the movement of the multiple mobile terminals (120) within a coverage area (155) of the system for satellite communication (100); a central server (180) configured to perform resource element allocation for the set of beamformed spot beams (150), wherein for each period (610) of the plurality of periods, determining, by the central server (180), one or more interference events associated with the set of beamformed spot beams (150) for a current time period (610) based at least in part on interference metrics of the beamformed spot beams (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams that each meet a threshold; determining, by the central server (180), a subset of the set of beamformed spot beams for resource element reallocation associated with a next time period (610) based at least in part on determining the one or more interference events for the current time period (610); determining, by the central server (180), one or more second resource elements for each of the set of resource elements associated with each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams for the next time period (610) such that the interference metric of the beamformed spot beams (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams each fails to satisfy the threshold, wherein, for each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams, the respective one or more second resource elements for the next time period (610) are different from the one or more first resource elements to which the beamformed spot beam (150) is assigned for the current time period (610); a central server (180) configured to direct, by the central server (180), a reallocation of each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams to the respective one or more second resource elements for the next time period (610); A system comprising:

24. For each period (610), to direct the reallocation for the next period (610), the central server (180):

24. The system of claim 23, further configured to instruct, by the central server, one or more satellites associated with a subset of the beamformed spot beams to perform the reassignment at a particular time.

25. For each period (610), to direct the reallocation for the next period (610), the central server (180):

25. The system of claim 23 or 24, further configured to notify, by the central server (180), each mobile terminal (120) associated with a subset of the beamformed spot beams (150) of the reallocation.

26. For each period (610), to perform the resource element allocation, the central server (180) The system of any one of claims 23 to 25, further configured to collect, by the central server (180), information associated with the plurality of mobile terminals (120) and the set of beamformed spot beams (150) for the period (610), and determining the one or more interference events is based at least in part on the collected information.

27. For each period (610), to perform the resource element allocation, the central server (180) 27. The system of claim 23, further configured by the central server (180) to determine locations of each of the plurality of mobile terminals for the current period (610), and wherein determining the one or more interference events is based at least in part on determining the locations of each of the plurality of mobile terminals.

28. For each time period (610), to determine a subset of the beamformed spot beams (150) for resource element reallocation, the central server (180) determining, by the central server (180), that an interference metric of a first beamformed spot beam (150) associated with a first mobile terminal (120) satisfies a threshold due to the adjustment of the coverage area (160) of the first beamformed spot beam (150); The system of any one of claims 23 to 27, further configured to determine, by the central server (180), that a subset of the beamformed spot beams (150) includes the first beamformed spot beam (150) based at least in part on the determination that the interference metric of the first beamformed spot beam (150) satisfies the threshold.

29. For each period (610), to direct the reallocation of each beamformed spot beam (150) of the next period, the central server (180) 29. The system of claim 28, further configured to send, by the central server (180), a control signal to the first mobile terminal (120).

30. For each period (610), to perform the resource element allocation, the central server (180) The system of any one of claims 23 to 29, further configured to determine, by the central server (180), for the current time period (610), one or more respective resource elements for each beamformed spot beam (150) of the subset of beamformed spot beams, and determining the one or more interference events is based at least in part on determining the one or more respective resource elements for each beamformed spot beam (150) for the current time period (610).

31. The system of any one of claims 23 to 30, wherein each period (610) comprises the same duration.

32. The interference metric of the beamformed spot beam (150) is: measuring interference between beamformed spot beams (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams; an estimated interference between beamformed spot beams (150) of the set of beamformed spot beams; correlation between the channels of said plurality of mobile terminals (120); or The system of any one of claims 23 to 31, wherein the distance between mobile terminals (120) of the plurality of mobile terminals is based on one or more of:

33. 1. A system comprising: one or more satellites (105); a beam manager (175), the beam manager comprising: and configured to provide communication services to first, second, and third mobile terminals (120) via first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) of a satellite communication system (100), respectively, wherein to provide said communication services, said beam manager (175) assigning each of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) to one or more resource elements of a set of resource elements including a first resource element and a second resource element; adjusting the coverage areas (160) of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) over a plurality of time periods to track movement of the first, second, and third mobile terminals (120) within a coverage area (155) of the satellite communications system (100); determining that by adjusting the respective coverage areas of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) for a first period (610) of the plurality of periods, interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy a threshold value and an interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold value; and assigning the first beamformed spot beam (150) to the first resource element, the second beamformed spot beam (150) to the second resource element, and the third beamformed spot beam (150) to the first and second resource elements based at least in part on the determination that the interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy the threshold and the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold.

34. To provide the communication service, the beam manager (175) determining that the interference metric of the first beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold and that the interference metric of the second and third beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy the threshold by adjusting the respective coverage areas of the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) for a second period (610) of the plurality of periods after the first period (610); 34. The system of claim 33, further configured to reassign the first beamformed spot beam to the first and second resource elements, the second beamformed spot beam to the second resource element, and the third beamformed spot beam to the first resource element based at least in part on the determination that the interference metric of the first beamformed spot beam fails to meet the threshold and the interference metrics of the second and third beamformed spot beams each meet the threshold.

35. 35. The system of claim 33 or 34, wherein the interference metric for the first, second, and third beamformed spot beams (150) each includes a comparison of the coverage area (160) of the first, second, or third beamformed spot beam (150) associated with the interference metric to the coverage areas (160) of one or more of the other beamformed spot beams (150) of the first, second, or third beamformed spot beam.

36. To provide the communication service, the beam manager (175) 36. The system of claim 33, further configured to further assign one of the first beamformed spot beam (150) or the second beamformed spot beam (150) to a third resource element of the set of resource elements, and the third beamformed spot beam (150) to the third resource element, based at least in part on the determination that the interference metrics of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) each satisfy the threshold and the interference metric of the third beamformed spot beam (150) fails to satisfy the threshold.

37. The system of any one of claims 33 to 36, wherein the number of resource elements assigned to each of the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) is based at least in part on the number of mobile terminals (120) located within the coverage area (160) of the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

38. 37. The system of claim 33, wherein the quantity of resource elements to which the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) are each assigned is based at least in part on a data rate associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

39. 37. The system of claim 33, wherein the quantity of resource elements to which the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) are each assigned is based at least in part on a user request associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

40. The number of resource elements to which the first and second beamformed spot beams (150) are respectively allocated is a contracted link rate associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150); a contracted priority associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150); a service layer agreement associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150); or and a business value associated with the first or second mobile terminal (120) associated with the respective beamformed spot beam (150).

41. 41. The system of any one of claims 33 to 40, wherein a power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150) is based at least in part on a desired data rate of the first mobile terminal (120).

42. To provide the communication service, the beam manager (175) 42. The system of claim 41, further configured to adjust the power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150) based at least in part on a data rate or user request associated with the first mobile terminal (120).

43. To adjust the power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150), the beam manager (175) transmitting a signal to the first mobile terminal (120), the signal indicating an adjustment to be made to a power associated with the first beamformed spot beam (150); 43. The system of claim 42, further configured to transmit adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) modifications to the first mobile terminal (120) along with the signal.

44. The system of any one of claims 33 to 43, wherein the first and second resource elements are each a combination of at least a time resource and a frequency resource.

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