Beam sharing and coupling for mobile satellite beams

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for beam sharing and coupling to mobile satellite beams are described. Communication services may be provided to mobile terminals via tracking beams and fixed beams. Mobile terminals may be switched between different types of beams, and beam switching may be based on the performance of the beams and the mobile terminals associated with them. Switching may be based on the beam performance not meeting a performance threshold. Switching may be based on the associated mobile terminals entering or leaving their respective locations. In some cases, mobile terminals may be coupled to multiple beams, and traffic may be provided to mobile terminals via the beams simultaneously. Traffic may include unicast traffic and multicast traffic, which are provided to mobile terminals via tracking beams and fixed beams, respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following generally relates to communication involving beam sharing and combining for mobile satellite beams.

Background Art

[0002] Communication devices can communicate with each other using wired connections, wireless (e.g., radio frequency (RF)) connections, or both. Wireless communication between devices can be performed using a wireless spectrum designated by a service provider, a wireless technology, or both. In some examples, the amount of information that can be communicated via a wireless communication network is based on the amount of wireless spectrum designated by the service provider and the amount of frequency reuse within the area where the service is provided. Satellite communication may use beamforming to establish beams and increase frequency reuse, but there are challenges in achieving a high level of frequency reuse in satellite communication systems using beamforming.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] The described technology relates to improvements in methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses that support beam sharing and combining for mobile satellite beams. Communication services can be provided to a mobile terminal via both a tracking beam and a fixed beam that can both be spot beams formed by beamforming. The mobile terminal can be switched between different types of beams, and the beam switching can be based on the performance of the beam and the mobile terminal associated with it. The switching can be based on the beam's performance not meeting a performance threshold. The switching can be based on whether an associated mobile terminal enters or exits its respective location. In some cases, a mobile terminal can be coupled to multiple beams, and communication services can be provided to the mobile terminal via the beams. The communication services can include unicast traffic and multicast traffic, which are communicated to the mobile terminal via the tracking beam and the fixed beam, respectively.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0004] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as described herein. [Figure 2A] Figure 2A shows an example of resources for a satellite communications system supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as described in this specification. [Figure 2B] Figure 2B shows an example of resource elements for a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, according to the examples described herein. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows another example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 5A] Figure 5A shows an example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling to another mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 5B] Figure 5B shows an example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling to another mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows another example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of a satellite communications system that supports beam sharing and coupling to another mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a block diagram of a beam manager and communications service monitor supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 9]Figure 9 is a block diagram of a communications service monitor supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a block diagram of a memory device supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as illustrated in the examples disclosed herein. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0005] Beam-to-beam handoffs between mobile terminals can cause disruption to end users, particularly due to changes in beam congestion levels. In some cases, modern satellite communication systems with electronically controllable beams can enable flexible placement of spot beams. Reducing the size of spot beams generally increases frequency reuse in spot beam satellite systems. For example, if a spot beam tracks each mobile terminal individually, frequency reuse can be increased and the number of handoffs can be reduced. To enable beam overlap, each beam may use its own unique combination of resource elements (e.g., a combination of frequency / time slot resources). However, in areas with high terminal density (e.g., near airports), assigning a separate spot beam to each aircraft may not be feasible because the number of unique resource elements may exceed the total number of available resource elements. In such cases, communication services may be provided over a fixed beam shared among multiple mobile terminals, with communication between multiple terminals multiplexed over common resources (e.g., time and frequency resources).

[0006] This invention describes a technique for providing communication services to mobile terminals via a tracking beam and a fixed beam. For the purposes of this application, while communication services are provided to mobile terminals via the beams, the “tracking” beam tracks the movement of each mobile terminal via a movable beam coverage area. The tracking beam may be generated by a beamformed spot beam. The tracking beam may also be referred to herein as a “tracking spot beam,” “movable spot beam,” or “movable beam.”

[0007] For the purposes of this application, a “fixed” beam does not track the movement of each mobile terminal. The beam coverage area of ​​a fixed beam is fixed and centered on a geographical location, and therefore remains substantially stationary while communication services are provided via the beam to a moving mobile terminal. The “fixed” provision takes into account small fluctuations in the fixed beam and its associated fixed beam coverage area due to the movement of a satellite (e.g., a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite) caused by the satellite’s drift and change of position from its orbit. A fixed beam can be generated by a fixed antenna or a beamformed spot beam. A fixed beam may also be referred to herein as a “geostationary beam.” A fixed beam generated by a beamformed spot beam may also be referred to herein as a “fixed spot beam.”

[0008] A fixed beam can provide communication services to multiple terminals within its fixed beam coverage area. To do this, the resource elements allocated to the fixed beam can be shared among multiple terminals. Therefore, a fixed beam may also be referred to as a “shared beam” in this specification. In some examples, a centralized media access control (MAC) scheduler may have access to data queues for multiple terminals, mediate which packets are transmitted through common resources and in what sequence, and may enforce specified fairness rules, traffic priorities, etc.

[0009] Conversely, a terminal may be provided with communication services by multiple beams. To prevent interference between beams at the terminal, the communication involving the beams and the terminal is coordinated with each other. This coordination of communication may be performed by a beam manager. A terminal involved in such coordinated communication is said to be “coupled” with the beams involved in the coordinated communication. Therefore, these beams may be referred to as “coupled beams” in this specification.

[0010] In areas where tracking beams and fixed beams overlap, a mobile terminal associated with a tracking beam may switch from receiving communication services via the tracking beam to receiving them via the fixed beam, based on a performance threshold associated with the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may then switch back to receiving communication services via the tracking beam, based on a second performance threshold associated with the mobile terminal. This can reduce the amount of tracking beam used in congested areas and mitigate performance degradation.

[0011] Furthermore, techniques for using tracking beams and fixed beams to deliver unicast and multicast traffic to mobile terminals, respectively, will be described. This may enable communication of larger volumes of traffic with mobile terminals. In some examples, mobile terminals may be coupled to different beams, allowing unicast and multicast traffic to be delivered to the mobile terminals simultaneously.

[0012] The aspects of this disclosure will first be described in the context of satellite communication systems. The aspects of this disclosure will further be illustrated and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, block diagrams, and flowcharts relating to beam sharing and coupling for mobile satellite beams.

[0013] Figure 1 shows an example of a satellite communications system 100 that supports beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, according to the examples described herein. The satellite communications system 100 may include a ground network 135 and a satellite network 101 configured to track one or more mobile terminals 120 and provide them with communications services.

[0014] The ground network 135 may include a collection of earth stations 170 having access nodes 140. The access nodes 140 are 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 with access node transceivers 145. The access node transceivers 145 are configured to process signals received from and transmitted through the corresponding access node(s) 140. The access node transceivers 145 may also be configured to connect to and function with the network 125 (e.g., the Internet) (e.g., via a network device 130 (e.g., a network operations center, satellite and gateway terminal command center, or other central processing center or device) that can provide an interface for communicating with the network 125).

[0015] The ground network 135 may also include a beam manager 175. The beam manager 175 controls the use of fixed and beamformed spot beams by mobile terminals and the tracking of mobile terminals, and coordinates the resource elements used by the beams and mobile terminals when communication services are provided to mobile terminals via fixed and beamformed spot beams, as described herein. The beam manager 175 may acquire information (e.g., information associated with satellite network 101 and terminal 120) from satellite network 101 (e.g., via feeder link 132 and access node 140) for the performance of control and coordination, and accordingly transmit commands (e.g., via access node and feeder link) (e.g., to satellite network 101 and / or terminal 120). The beam manager 175 may also be configured to connect to and function with network 125. In some examples, the beam manager 175 may be included in satellite network 101 instead of ground network 135. For example, the beam manager 175 may be located on satellite 105.

[0016] The terminal 120 may include various devices configured to communicate signals with the satellite network 101. In the illustration, the terminal 120 is on an aircraft, but the terminal 120 may include a fixed terminal (e.g., a ground-based stationary terminal), or a mobile terminal attached to a mobile platform (e.g., a ship, an aircraft, a ground-based vehicle, etc.), or a combination of a fixed terminal and a mobile terminal. The terminal 120 may use a beam (e.g., the beamformed spot beam 150) to communicate data and information with the access node 140 via the satellite network 101. The data and information may be communicated to a destination device (e.g., the network device 130), or any other device or distributed server associated with the network 125.

[0017] The satellite network 101 may include one or more satellites 105 (e.g., a single satellite 105 or a network of satellites) disposed in a space orbit (e.g., a low Earth orbit, a medium Earth orbit, a geosynchronous orbit, a 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), which may also be referred to as antenna elements. The antenna elements may be used to generate a beam for providing communication services to the terminal 120. The terrestrial network 135 may also include an access node 140 having one or more antenna elements.

[0018] Each terminal 120 may also include an antenna assembly that may also include various hardware for attaching an antenna. The antenna assembly may also include circuits and / or processors for converting between radio frequency (RF) satellite communication signals transmitted between the antenna and the satellite terminal receiver and satellite terminal communication signals (e.g., performing frequency conversion, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, filtering, transfer, etc.). In the case of a mobile terminal, the antenna assembly may be attached to the outside of the mobile platform (e.g., the outside of the fuselage of an aircraft). In addition or alternatively, the terminal 120 may include a transceiver. The transceiver may be attached to the inside or outside of the mobile platform and may include circuits and / or processors for performing various RF signal operations (e.g., receiving, performing frequency conversion, modulation / demodulation, multiplexing / demultiplexing, etc.).

[0019] The beam manager 175 may use one or more satellites to support beamforming and other techniques within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system and increase the utilization of resources used for communication. In some examples, the beam manager 175 may use beamforming (including the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques) to utilize multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by transmitting and receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers on the same frequency resource. The beam manager 175 may transmit, for example, multiple signals via a set of antennas according to a set of weighting factors by a transmitting device (e.g., satellite 105). Similarly, multiple signals may be received by a receiving device (e.g., terminal 120) via a set of antennas according to a set of weighting factors. 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).

[0020] In some examples, some or all of the antenna elements on satellite 105, ground network 135, and / or terminal 120 may be arranged as an array of constitutive receive and / or transmit feed elements that work together to enable various examples of onboard beamforming (OBBF), ground-based beamforming (GBBF), end-to-end beamforming, or other types of beamforming. In a GBBF implementation, multiple transmit or receive antennas may be present on the ground network access node(s).

[0021] The beam manager 175 can determine weighting coefficients to apply to a set of antennas. For example, if N space layers should be formed, the beam manager 175 can utilize a (MxN) MIMO matrix, where M can represent the number of antennas in the set. In some examples, M may be equal to N. The beam manager 175 can determine a MIMO matrix based on a channel matrix and use that MIMO matrix to separate different space layers of a channel. In some examples, the beam manager 175 can select weighting coefficients to enhance signals transmitted using different space layers while reducing interference from signals transmitted in other space layers. Thus, processing the signals received at each antenna in the set of antennas (e.g., signals received in the set of antennas) using the MIMO matrix can result in multiple signals being output. Each of these multiple signals may correspond to one of the space layers. In some examples, the weighting coefficients used in MIMO communication may be called beam coefficients or beamforming coefficients, and the multiple space layers may be called beams or spot beams.

[0022] The beam manager 175 may determine the elements of the MIMO matrix used to form the spatial layer of the channel based on the channel sounding probe. The channel sounding probe may include a reference signal that is periodically transmitted between the satellite network 101 and a device coupled to the satellite network (e.g., terminal 120). For example, the channel sounding probe may be periodically transmitted from terminal 120 to satellite 105, or from satellite to terminal, or both, and may include a sequence known to the transmitter and receiver (e.g., based on a terminal identifier or other parameters known to the transmitter and receiver). The receiving device (e.g., terminal or satellite) may use the received channel sounding probe to evaluate the connection (e.g., determine signal strength, interference, etc.) by correlating the received channel sounding probe with the expected signal to the channel sounding probe, and make a decision based on that. The periodicity of the signal allows the receiving device to know when to receive the signal.

[0023] The beam manager 175 can use beamforming techniques to shape or guide a communication beam along a spatial path between one or more satellites and a mobile terminal 120 within a geographical area. The beam manager 175 forms the communication beam by determining weighting coefficients for the antenna elements of an antenna array, so that signals transmitted from or received by the antenna elements combine to cause constructive interference in signals propagating in a particular direction relative to the antenna array, and destructive interference in other signals. Thus, beamforming can be used to transmit signals with energy concentrated in the direction of the communication beam, and to receive signals arriving in the direction of the communication beam with increased signal power (compared to the absence of beamforming). The beam manager 175 can use the weighting coefficients to apply amplitude offset, phase offset, or both to the signals carried through the antenna elements.

[0024] In some examples, the beam manager 175 may apply weighting coefficients to the antenna to form multiple beams (each associated with a different direction). Multiple beams can 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, as herein, be referred to as a beamformed spot beam, or spot beam, or beam.

[0025] The beam manager 175 can calculate the amplitude and phase of each weighting coefficient given the geometric shape and position of the antenna array and reflector, and the desired beam position. However, such an approach may be impractical due to inaccuracies (e.g., satellite position, array orientation, geometric shape, atmospheric scintillation effects, etc.). Instead, the beam manager 175 can 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 the changing channel characteristics. The measured MIMO channel characteristics may include pairwise gain, phase response, and noise level, and may be referred to as MIMO channel state information (CSI). Once MIMO CSI is available, the beam manager 175 can derive the weighting coefficients by solving a set of equations or by applying a set of adaptive equations. Various beamformer calculation and adaptive techniques can be used (e.g., least mean squares error (MMSE) beamformer, zero-forcing beamformer, MIMO spherical decoder, etc.).

[0026] MIMO measurement CSI may involve the cooperation of at least one terminal per spot beam. The situation may differ in the forward link direction (satellite to terminal) and the return link direction (terminal to satellite). On 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 signals are being transmitted from each terminal and process the signals to estimate the channel parameters of the channel corresponding to that terminal. Thus, MIMO CSI on the return link can be calculated locally on the satellite side if the terminals transmit channel probing signals. In contrast, on 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 to the calculation of MIMO CSI may perform the calculation by processing the probing signals corresponding to at least a subset of its transmitting antenna elements. Furthermore, each such terminal may transmit and return MIMO CSI to the satellite using the return link control channel.

[0027] The spot beams thus generated can be adjusted to match the MIMO CSI provided by the user terminal, and each spot beam can illuminate the direction of each such terminal. Each spot beam has a finite coverage area 160 (e.g., a diameter of several kilometers) and can therefore illuminate further terminals that may be near the CSI generating terminal. These further terminals may not provide CSI because they could unnecessarily increase the overhead of the CSI reporting channel. The terminal used to provide MIMO CSI for each spot beam can be considered a reference terminal for that spot beam. The reference terminal may be a mobile terminal. In some examples, the coverage area 160 of a spot beam can be determined based on the wavelength of the carrier wave and the diameter of the aperture. The coverage area 160 may correspond, for example, to footprints where the power level of the spot beam exceeds a threshold, or footprints where the power level drop at locations away from the center of the spot beam is less than a threshold amount (e.g., 3 decibels (dB) or 6 dB). In some examples, the coverage area 160 may be based on the beam width of the spot beam (e.g., threshold power level).

[0028] In some examples, one or more aircraft-mounted terminals 120 may be sufficiently far apart from each other and from other aircraft, so the beam manager 175 may use separate fixed or spot beams for each of the one or more terminals. In some examples, two or more terminals 120 may be in close proximity (for example, at an airport), so the beam manager 175 may illuminate the terminals with the same spot beam. In the former case, each terminal on the aircraft may be a reference terminal for its spot beam, while in the latter case, one of several terminals on the aircraft within the beam coverage area may function as a reference terminal for the spot beam.

[0029] As the mobile terminal 120 moves within the airspace, the MIMO CSI may change, potentially altering the direction of the spot beam. The beam manager 175 can adjust the beam direction based on the changed MIMO CSI, allowing the reference terminal to remain at or near the center of the spot beam. Therefore, as the reference terminal moves, the spot beam can follow its movement. This is further described herein.

[0030] The beam manager 175 can associate fixed and beamformed spot beams with a set of resources for the satellite communication system 100. A set of resources may include, for example, frequency resources, time resources, and polarization resources. For example, a given frequency range for the satellite communication system 100 may include a frequency resource or channel, and a given time may include different repeating time slots. For example, the beam manager 175 may use a frequency channel to carry a signal (for example, a modulated signal carried within a beamformed spot beam) on one of the repeating time slots. In this way, beams may spatially overlap without interference if associated with different combinations of frequency / time resources. In addition, the beam manager 175 may use multiple polarizations, and two beams may spatially overlap without interference if associated with different polarizations.

[0031] Therefore, beams may spatially overlap without interference if they are associated with different combinations of resources (e.g., different frequency channel / time slot / polarization combinations). These different combinations may be known as resource elements and together form a set of resource elements that can be used by the beam manager 175 to communicate signals through the beams. The beam manager 175 can control the association of fixed and spot beams with resource elements and can determine when to allocate and reallocate resource elements to beams. The beam manager 175 can also control the amount of power allocated to each beam and when to adjust the power for each beam.

[0032] The beam manager 175 can adjust the individual coverage areas or footprints of beamformed spot beams (for example, by adjusting weighting coefficients) and track each mobile terminal (for example, by moving with the mobile terminal).

[0033] Figure 2A shows an example of resource 200 for a satellite communications system supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, according to the examples described herein. Resource 200 may correspond to frequency division of the satellite communications system. For example, frequency range 205 (e.g., frequency band) may include a set of different frequency resources or frequency channels 210 (e.g., frequency channel 210-a, frequency channel 210-b, frequency channel 210-c, frequency channel 210-d) that carry signals between the satellite network and terminals. Resource 200 may correspond to frequency channels 210 of frequency range 205.

[0034] Each frequency channel 210 may carry a signal associated with a single terminal (for example, at one time). For example, each frequency channel 210 may carry a single modulated signal. Information (for example, data, control information) may be modulated into a 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)). A fixed or beamformed spot beam may be associated with one or more frequency channels 210 (for example, by a beam manager 175) to provide communication to a mobile terminal, and in the case of a beamformed spot beam, it may be able to track the mobile terminal.

[0035] In the example in Figure 2A, resource 200 may correspond to frequency channels 210. That is, each frequency channel 210 may be a separate resource 200. Since no other types of resources exist, in some examples, separate resources can also be resource elements. Thus, in this example, the number of available resource elements may correspond to the number of frequency channels N.

[0036] Figure 2B shows an example of a resource element 250 for a satellite communications system supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, according to the examples described herein. In this example, frequency channels 210 may also be used to carry signals associated with the terminal. In addition, frequency channels 210 may be time-multiplexed; that is, each frequency channel 210 may be configured to carry signals to and from the terminal in time slots that are repeated after a certain period of time. For example, period 215 may be a set of sub-periods or time slots t (e.g., time slot t1, time slot t2, time slot t3, time slot t mThe frequency channel 210 can be divided into segments, each having a length of 225. Each frequency channel 210 carries signals to and from different terminals during each time slot t, although in some cases multiple time slots within the period 215 may be assigned to the same terminal. For example, each frequency channel 210 may carry a single modulated signal during each time slot t. Information (e.g., data, control information) can be modulated into a signal using various single-carrier or multi-carrier modulation techniques (e.g., OFDM, DSSS, LP-OFDM), as described herein, to provide communication to and track mobile terminals (e.g., by a beam manager 175).

[0037] Since the process can be repeated upon completion of period 215, each frequency channel 210 may carry further signals associated with different terminals within the resource period. As a result, the beam manager 175 may use the frequency channel 210 for communication with terminals for one time slot t per period 215. In some examples, the beam manager 175 may assign multiple time slots to terminals per period, and therefore communication with terminals may occur over multiple time slots per period for the frequency channel 210. In some cases, assigning a beam to a set of resources (e.g., one or more resource elements) may be performed on a time scale longer than period 215. That is, once assigned to one or more resource elements, a fixed or beamformed spot beam may continue to use the resource elements over multiple periods 215 until the assignment is updated.

[0038] In the example in Figure 2B, resource elements 250 may correspond to combinations of frequency channels 210 and time slots t within a period 215. That is, each unique combination of frequency channel 210 and time slot t can be a separate resource element 250. Therefore, in this example, the number of available resource elements may correspond to the number of frequency channels × the number of time slots (or Nxm). Thus, this example may provide more resource elements than the example in Figure 2A.

[0039] In addition to being multiplexed by time or frequency, resource elements can be defined to be assigned to fixed and beamformed spot beams using different polarizations. For example, a set of resource elements may include a first set of sub-resource elements associated with a first polarization and a second set of sub-resource elements associated with a second (orthogonal) polarization. The first and second polarizations can be orthogonal polarizations and can be linear or circular polarizations (e.g., right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), left-hand circular polarization (LHCP)). Thus, sets of resource elements available to the beam manager 175 for assignment to fixed and beamformed spot beams can be defined according to frequency resources (e.g., frequency channels), time resources (e.g., sub-periods of resource periods), or polarization resources.

[0040] In some examples, resource element types can be combined. For instance, in the same system, one or more frequency channels may be divided into time slots (e.g., as shown in Figure 2B), while one or more other frequency channels are used as separate resource elements and are not divided (e.g., as shown in Figure 2A). Other combinations are also possible.

[0041] Figure 3 shows an example of a satellite communications system 300 supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 300 may be an example of the satellite communications system 100 or an embodiment thereof, as described with reference to Figure 1. The satellite communications system 300 may include a beam manager 175-a, which may be an example of the beam manager 175 or an embodiment thereof, as described with reference to Figure 1.

[0042] The satellite communication system 300 includes a satellite network 101, which may have one or more satellites 105 (e.g., satellite 105-a). Satellite 105 is configured, instructed by a beam manager 175-a, to generate a beamformed spot beam 150 (e.g., beamformed spot beam 150-a) for communicating with a set of terminals 120 (e.g., terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, 120-d) within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system. The beamformed spot beam may also be referred to as a spot beam in this specification.

[0043] Terminal 120 may be located on a mobile platform or vehicle (e.g., a car, ship, or aircraft) and can therefore be considered a mobile terminal 120. In some examples, each vehicle may include a single mobile terminal. In other examples, one or more vehicles may each include two or more mobile terminals. At least some of the mobile terminals 120 may be multi-user mobile terminals, and therefore the satellite communication system 300 may provide communication services to multiple user devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets) connected via the mobile terminals 120.

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

[0045] In some examples, a beam manager 175-a may associate each beamformed spot beam 150 with a different mobile terminal 120. Each mobile terminal 120 associated with its own spot beam may also be considered a reference terminal. Each spot beam 150 may have its own coverage area 160 (e.g., coverage areas 160-a, 160-b, 160-c, 160-d). The coverage areas may correspond, for example, to footprints where the beam's power level exceeds a threshold, or footprints where the power level drop at locations away from the beam's center is less than a threshold amount (e.g., 3 dB, 6 dB).

[0046] In some examples, a beamformed spot beam associated with a reference terminal may be formed to include the physical location of the terminal within the coverage area of ​​the beamformed spot beam (for example, controlled by a beam manager 175-a). For example, as shown in Figure 3, mobile terminal 120-a (acting as the reference terminal) may be physically located within the coverage area 160-a of the beamformed spot beam 150-a, and mobile terminals 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d may be physically located within the coverage areas 160-b, 160-c, and 160-d of their respective beamformed spot beams (not shown). The satellite communication system 300 may provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-a via the beamformed spot beam 150-a (for example, via a beam manager 175-a).

[0047] In some examples, the beam manager 175-a may cause a beamformed spot beam to track a moving mobile terminal while communication services are provided to the terminal via the spot beam. For example, as mobile terminal 120-a physically moves from position A to position B, as indicated by arrow 325, the beamformed spot beam 150-a may “move” to track the mobile terminal, as indicated by arrow 330. In some examples, to “move” the beamformed spot beam, the beam manager 175-a may change the beamforming coefficient associated with the beamformed spot beam and apply it to the signal associated with the beamformed spot beam. This can change the directivity of the beamformed spot beam (e.g., the beam is “moved”) and the coverage area of ​​the beamformed spot beam may change (e.g., “move”). A beam that moves to track a mobile terminal may be referred to herein as a tracking beam.

[0048] To follow or track a mobile terminal, the beamforming coefficient can be modified by the beam manager 175-a so that the coverage area of ​​the tracked beam can move to reflect the movement of the mobile terminal (for example, move with the mobile terminal). For example, the beamforming coefficient can be changed so that the coverage area 160 of the beamformed spot beam 150 can move in one or two dimensions, allowing the mobile terminal 120 to be spatially tracked across the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system. The beam manager 175-a can continuously adjust the movable coverage area of ​​the spot beam (for example, by periodically changing the beamforming coefficient to provide continuous coverage) to keep in response to the moving physical position of the moving mobile terminal, thereby allowing the mobile terminal to be tracked. For example, when the mobile terminal 120-a moves from location A to location B, the beam manager 175-a may move the movable coverage area 160-a of the tracking beam 150-a (for example, from coverage area 160-a1 to coverage area 160-a2) to encompass the physical location of the mobile terminal 120-a. This may enable the provision of communication services associated with the mobile terminal 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-a may provide continuous communication services to the mobile terminal 120-a via the tracking beam 150-a without handoff as the mobile terminal moves between location A and location B.

[0049] In some examples, to track a mobile terminal, the beam manager 175-a may adjust the movable coverage area of ​​the spot beam (for example, move the spot beam) based on measurements of the signal communicated with the mobile terminal. In some examples, the mobile terminal may regularly and periodically return channel state information to the satellite network 101, and the beam manager 175-a may process this channel state information to calculate appropriate beamforming coefficients so that the beam energy for the spot beam signal associated with that aircraft is concentrated on that aircraft. As the aircraft moves, the channel state information may change. As a result, the beam weighting coefficients calculated by the beam manager 175-a may change. Through this beamformer adaptation process, the center of the spot beam may always be located in the same place as the aircraft (it may follow the aircraft).

[0050] Alternatively, the beam manager 175-a may use an initial estimate of where to move the spot beam based on the mobile terminal's current speed and direction of movement. In some examples, the beam manager 175-a may move the spot beam so that, even as the mobile terminal moves, the mobile terminal remains centered within the spot beam's movable coverage area. This may allow the mobile terminal's SNR to remain high, and thus the overall communication speed and spectral efficiency associated with the mobile terminal may also be higher.

[0051] In some examples, the beam manager 175-a may determine the position of a mobile terminal based on information received from the mobile terminal, such as position coordinates (determined, for example, via a positioning system, such as GPS), speed, direction, or other information associated with the mobile terminal. In some examples, the beam manager 175-a may determine the position of a mobile terminal based on information from outside the mobile terminal, such as radar or other signals.

[0052] In some examples, a satellite communication system may provide communication services to one or more mobile terminals via beamformed spot beams associated with those terminals. For example, in Figure 3, beam manager 175-a may establish beamformed spot beams 150 for each of the mobile terminals 120-a, 120-b, 120-c, and 120-d, providing communication services to the terminals and tracking them as they move within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system.

[0053] In some examples, beam manager 175-a may determine the location of a mobile terminal using initial channel state information. Beam manager 175-a may determine initial channel state information based on measurements (e.g., signal strength) of initial signals communicated with (e.g., transmitted to and from) the mobile terminal. Initial channel state information may be based on the first location of each mobile terminal within the coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system 300 (e.g., location A relative to mobile terminal 120-a). In some examples, the initial signals may include each initial channel sounding probe communicated with the mobile terminal.

[0054] In some examples, to generate beamformed spot beams, the beam manager 175-a may apply beamforming coefficients to convert between the beam signal associated with each beamformed spot beam and the component signals associated with multiple antenna elements of a satellite communication system. For example, to generate a spot beam for transmitting information to a mobile terminal, the beam manager 175-a may apply beamforming coefficients to the beam signal (containing the information to be transmitted to the mobile terminal) to obtain component signals that can be applied to the antenna elements. To generate a spot beam for receiving information from mobile terminals, the beam manager 175-a may apply beamforming coefficients to component signals received from multiple mobile terminals at the antenna elements to obtain multiple beam signals, each containing information transmitted within a given beam's movable coverage area (e.g., enhancing signals transmitted within the beam's coverage area and suppressing signals transmitted from outside the beam's coverage area). The beam manager 175-a may also determine the power level to allocate to the spot beams. Generally, a spot beam can have greater capability (e.g., data rate) as its power level increases.

[0055] Multiple antenna elements may be located on one or more of the satellites 105, or on a component of the ground network of the satellite communication system (for example, an access node 140 of the ground network 135 as shown in Figure 1). The beam manager 175-a may use beamforming coefficients to form a beamformed spot beam 150 between the satellites 105 and the movable coverage area 160. Since the beam manager 175-a may obtain beamforming coefficients based on initial channel state information, the coverage area 160 of the spot beam 150 may encompass the initial position of each associated terminal 120 (for example, position A).

[0056] The beamformed spot beam 150 may be a forward-link beamformed spot beam (for example, for transmitting information to a mobile terminal) and / or a return-link beamformed spot beam (for example, for receiving information from a mobile terminal). For example, the beamforming coefficient may include multiple sets of forward-link beamforming coefficients and multiple sets of return-link beamforming coefficients.

[0057] The beam manager 175-a may apply a first set of forward-link beamforming coefficients to a set of forward-link signals at a first time point to generate a first set of forward-link component signals, which can then be made available for transmission to one or more mobile terminals via an antenna element at the first time point. When the first set of forward-link component signals is transmitted to the mobile terminals via the antenna element, forward-link beamformed spot beams may be formed, each spot beam may correspond to one of the mobile terminals at the first time point.

[0058] The beam manager 175-a may apply a second set of forward-link beamforming coefficients to a set of forward-link signals at a second time point to generate a second set of forward-link component signals, which can then be transmitted to a mobile terminal via an antenna element at the second time point. When the second set of forward-link component signals is transmitted to the mobile terminal via the antenna element, forward-link beamformed spot beams may be formed, each spot beam corresponding to a mobile terminal at the second time point. One or more forward-link beamformed spot beams at the second time point may move from their corresponding forward-link beamformed spot beams at the first time point to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal.

[0059] For the return link, the beam manager 175-a may apply a first set of return link beamforming coefficients at a first time point to the return link component signal received from the mobile terminal via the antenna element at the first time point. Applying the first set of return link beamforming coefficients may form a return link beamformed spot beam, each spot beam may correspond to one of the mobile terminals at the first time point.

[0060] The beam manager 175-a may apply a second set of return link beamforming coefficients at a second time point to the return link component signal received from the mobile terminal via multiple antenna elements at the second time point. Applying the second set of return link beamforming coefficients may form a return link beamformed spot beam for the second time point. One or more of these return link beamformed spot beams at the second time point may move from the corresponding return link beamformed spot beam at the first time point to track the movement of the corresponding mobile terminal.

[0061] In some examples, beam manager 175-a may use subsequent channel state information to determine the subsequent position of the mobile terminal. Beam manager 175-a may determine the subsequent channel state information based on measurements of subsequent signals communicated with the mobile terminal (e.g., signal strength). The subsequent channel state information may be based on each second position of the mobile terminal within coverage area 155 (e.g., position B relative to mobile terminal 120-a). The difference between the initial channel state information and the subsequent channel state information may be based on the movement of the mobile terminal to each second position.

[0062] In some examples, the beam manager 175-a may modify and apply the beamforming coefficient to convert between the beam signal and component signals associated with multiple antenna elements of the satellite network. Since the modified beamforming coefficient is obtained based on subsequent channel state information, the new beam coverage area (e.g., coverage area 160-a2) may encompass each of the mobile terminal's second positions (e.g., position B).

[0063] Determining the subsequent position of the mobile terminal and correcting the beamforming coefficient based on that position can be repeated by the beam manager 175-a at the frequency and duration as needed. In this way, the beamformed spot beam 150 can track the movement of the reference terminal 120 throughout the entire coverage area 155 of the satellite communication system while communication services are being provided to the terminal.

[0064] In some examples, the beamforming coefficient (e.g., initial beamforming coefficient and modified beamforming coefficient) may include a set of beamforming coefficients. Each set of beamforming coefficients may correspond to a different period for a set of beamformed spot beams. In some examples, the beamforming coefficient may be modified based on characteristics, attributes, or conditions that satisfy (e.g., meet, exceed, and / or fall below) a threshold. For example, beam manager 175-a may modify the beamforming coefficient and then apply the modified beamforming coefficient based on the fact that the received signal quality (e.g., measured in a mobile terminal or satellite communication system) has fallen below a threshold. For example, the beamforming coefficient may be modified so that the power to the beam can be increased. This may allow the signal quality associated with the mobile terminal to remain high, and thus the overall communication speed and efficiency associated with the mobile terminal may also be higher.

[0065] Additionally or alternatively, the beam manager 175-a may modify the beamforming coefficient and then apply the modified beamforming coefficient based on the position of one or more moving terminals within the movable coverage area of ​​each beamformed spot beam. In some examples, the beam manager 175-a may determine the received signal quality based on subsequent channel state information.

[0066] In some examples, two or more beams may use different resource elements to provide communication services to each mobile terminal. For example, beam manager 175-a may cause each beam 150 to use different resource elements (e.g., different combinations of frequency channel, time slot, and polarization) to provide communication to each mobile terminal 120 while tracking the mobile terminals. By using different resource elements, interference between beams can be mitigated or eliminated even if the mobile terminals are close to each other.

[0067] In some examples, two or more beams may use the same resource elements to provide communication services to each mobile terminal. For example, beam manager 175-a may cause two or more beams 150 to use the same combination of frequency channel, time slot, and polarization to provide communication to each mobile terminal 120 while tracking the mobile terminals. This may be desirable, for example, when the mobile terminals are far enough apart that the beams do not interfere with each other. By using the same resource elements, more beams may be used with a particular set of resources, thus improving frequency reuse.

[0068] Figure 4 shows an example of another satellite communications system 400 supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 400 may be an example of a satellite communications system described herein (for example, satellite communications system 100 or its embodiments described with reference to Figure 1). The satellite communications system 400 may include a beam manager 175-b, which may be an example of beam manager 175 or its embodiments described with reference to Figure 1.

[0069] The satellite communication system 400 includes a satellite network 101, which may have one or more satellites 105 (e.g., satellite 105-b). Satellite 105 is configured to generate a movable beamformed spot beam 150 (e.g., tracking beams 150-e and 150-f) for communication with a mobile terminal 120 (e.g., mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f) as the beamformed spot beam tracks the mobile terminal (controlled by a beam manager 175-b as described herein).

[0070] In some examples, each beamformed spot beam 150 may be associated with a different mobile terminal 120. For example, beam manager 175-b may associate a tracking beam 150-e with mobile terminal 120-e and a tracking beam 150-f with mobile terminal 120-f. The beamformed spot beam 150 may have a movable coverage area 160 (e.g., coverage areas 160-e and 160-f). For clarity, the tracking beam 150-e corresponding to a moving mobile terminal 120-e and its associated movable coverage area 160-e are shown with solid lines, and the tracking beam 150-f corresponding to a moving mobile terminal 120-f and its corresponding movable coverage area 160-f are shown with dashed lines.

[0071] Figure 4 shows an example in which two mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f move in close proximity to each other as they travel along their respective paths 460-a and 460-b. Similar to the tracking beam 150-f and its corresponding coverage area 160-f, path 460-b corresponding to mobile terminal 120-f is shown as a dashed line. Mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f can travel along paths 460-a and 460-b from their respective starting positions represented by A1 and A2 to their respective ending positions represented by G1 and G2. While mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f are aircraft in the illustration, other mobile platforms may also be used. Tracking beams 150-e and 150-f can track mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f, respectively (for example, by beam manager 175-b adjusting their respective movable coverage areas 160-e and 160-f as the mobile terminals move), while communication services are provided to the mobile terminals via the beams as the mobile terminals move along the path.

[0072] As mobile terminals move closer to each other, interference between associated spot beams may increase (for example, if the beams use the same resource element). As described herein, beam manager 175-b may improve interference by switching one or more beams to different resource elements.

[0073] At points along paths 460-a and 460-b (represented by B1 and B2), the beams may begin to overlap (for example, as mobile terminals move toward each other). As used herein, beams may be considered to overlap based on the relative positions of their respective coverage areas. For example, tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may overlap when their respective coverage areas 160-e and 160-f overlap each other. That is, tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may be considered to overlap when at least a portion of their respective coverage areas 160-e and 160-f contain the same geographic area. Thus, when mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f move toward each other from B1 / B2, tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may be considered to overlap each other. In some cases, the movable coverage area of ​​a spot beam may be centered on the location of the mobile terminal being tracked by that spot beam. For example, coverage areas 160-e and 160-f may be centered on the locations of mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f, respectively. In some examples, the overlap of coverage areas may be based on the distance between corresponding mobile terminals.

[0074] Further along paths 460-a and 460-b, mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f may reach another point (represented by C1 and C2). At that point, one or more mobile terminals may enter the mobile coverage area of ​​a beam that does not support the mobile terminal (e.g., a beam that does not provide communication services to the mobile terminal or does not track the mobile terminal) (e.g., by the mobile terminals continuing to move toward each other). For example, at C1 / C2, mobile terminal 120-e may enter the coverage area 160-f of tracking beam 150-f, and / or mobile terminal 120-f may enter the coverage area 160-e of tracking beam 150-e. At some point before or after this, interference between tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may increase to an unacceptable level. For example, the interference index of one or both beams may satisfy a threshold (e.g., satisfy or exceed, or satisfy or exceed). As described herein, measures may be taken to mitigate interference (e.g., to avoid beam collisions) (e.g., by beam manager 175-b).

[0075] Mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f may remain within the coverage areas 160-e and 160-f of both tracking beams 150-e and 150-f until they reach other points along paths 460-a and 460-b (represented by E1 and E2). At those points, the mobile terminals may move out of the coverage area of ​​the other beam (for example, by moving away from each other). For example, in E1 / E2, mobile terminal 120-e may move out of the coverage area 160-f of tracking beam 150-f, and mobile terminal 120-f may move out of the coverage area 160-e of tracking beam 150-e. Even after the mobile terminals have moved out of the coverage area of ​​the other terminal, the beams may still overlap. For example, in E1 / E2, the coverage areas 160-e and 160-f of tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may still overlap.

[0076] Tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may remain overlapping until another point along paths 460-a and 460-b (represented by F1 and F2). At that point, tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may no longer overlap (for example, by the mobile terminals continuing to move away from each other). From that point along paths 460-a and 460-b to G1 / G2, tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may remain separate and not overlap, as long as the mobile terminals are sufficiently far apart from each other.

[0077] As described with respect to Figures 2A and 2B, beam manager 175-b may use resource elements to provide communication services to mobile terminals via beamformed spot beams. In some examples, if the beams do not collide (e.g., if the interference between beams is low), the beams may use the same resource elements to provide communication services to each mobile terminal. For example, as long as the respective interference indices of tracking beams 150-e and 150-f remain below the threshold, beam manager 175-b may use the same resource elements to provide communication to mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f via tracking beams 150-e and 150-f, as described herein.

[0078] As mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f move closer to each other (for example, from A1 / A2 to B1 / B2, and from C1 / C2 to D1 / D2), interference between the corresponding tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may increase. Increased interference may mean that communication via separate beams will experience excessive inter-beam interference (for example, when using the same resource element). If the interference increases to a certain level (for example, when the interference index of at least one of the beams reaches a threshold), measures may be taken by the beam manager 175-b to avoid beam collisions (for example, to mitigate interference).

[0079] In some examples, the interference index may correspond to the measured interference of one or more beams. For example, the interference index may correspond to the signal strength of a beam associated with a terminal. In some examples, the signal strength associated with a terminal may be measured at a second terminal. In addition to or instead of this, the interference index may correspond to the degradation of the beam's signal (e.g., a decrease in SNR), and the threshold may correspond to a specific level of index or a specific amount of degradation (e.g., a 3dB or 6dB SNR loss). In some examples, beam interference may be measured at a receiving device of a communication link. For example, beam interference may be measured at a mobile terminal (in the case of a forward link) or a satellite (in the case of a return link).

[0080] In some cases, the interference index can correspond to channel correlation. For example, the interference index may be based on the correlation between channel state information of two or more mobile terminals. The interference index may be frequency-dependent.

[0081] In some examples, the interference index may correspond to the estimated interference of one or more beams. For example, the estimated interference may be based on the distance between mobile terminals or on an algorithm that estimates interference between associated beams. In some examples, the interference index may be based on the distance between mobile terminals associated with the beams, and the threshold may correspond to a specific distance. For example, the threshold may correspond to the distance between mobile terminals where the mobile coverage areas of the corresponding beams begin to overlap (e.g., in B1 / B2), or the distance between mobile terminals where one mobile terminal enters the coverage area of ​​the beam corresponding to another mobile terminal (e.g., in C1 / C2), or somewhere in between. Other distances are also possible.

[0082] In some examples, each beam may have multiple interference index values. For instance, the interference index may correspond to interference between pairs of beams, and the interference between each pair may be compared individually to a threshold. Thus, each beam may have multiple interference values, one between itself and one of the other beams. For example, in the case of three beams A, B, and C that are close to each other, beam A may have two distinct interference values, one corresponding to the interference between beams A and B, and the other corresponding to the interference between beams A and C. The interference between beam pairs AB, AC, and BC may be compared individually to a threshold, and demodulation may be performed on the beam pairs whose interference index satisfies the threshold.

[0083] In some examples, each beam may have a single interference value. For instance, the interference index may correspond to the interference between a beam and multiple other beams (e.g., all other beams). For example, in the case of three identical beams A, B, and C, beam A may have a single interference index value corresponding to the overall interference between beam A and beams B and C. For each beam, the overall interference may be compared to a threshold, and collision avoidance may be performed for the beam(s) whose interference index satisfies the threshold.

[0084] Returning to the example shown in Figure 4, the same resource element A is originally assigned to both tracking beams 150-e and 150-f (e.g., in A1 / A2) and can provide communication services to their respective mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f. Mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f can be quite far apart from each other in A1 / A2, and the tracking beams 150-e and 150-f do not collide with each other (e.g., even if the same resource element A were assigned to them, there would be little, if any, interference between tracking beams 150-e and 150-f). Therefore, the interference index between tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may be relatively low (e.g., below the threshold). In some examples, the same resource element A may be semi-statically assigned to tracking beams 150-e and 150-f (e.g., by beam manager 175-b), and each terminal monitors and / or transmits through the same resource element until it receives an instruction to switch its resource element.

[0085] Interference between beams can increase to an unacceptable level (for example, when the interference index meets a first threshold). In some examples, this may correspond when one of the mobile terminals 120 enters the movable coverage area of ​​another spot beam 150 (for example, at or near C1 / C2). In some examples, this may correspond when mobile terminals 120-e and 120-f are between B1 / B2 and C1 / C2. Other positions may also be possible, based on when the interference index value meets a first threshold.

[0086] To mitigate interference, one or both beams may be changed to different resource elements (for example, by beam manager 175-b). For example, in response to the interference index meeting a first threshold, beam manager 175-b may cause the tracking beam 150-f to switch resource elements (for example, by assigning resource element B to the tracking beam 150-f instead of resource element A) to provide communication services to the mobile terminal 120-f. This may involve changing one or more of the frequency channels, time slots, polarizations, or other resources (for example, one or more codes) associated with the tracking beam 150-f to be different from those used by the tracking beam 150-e. In some examples, resource element B may be orthogonal to resource element A.

[0087] After tracking beam 150-f is changed to a different resource element than tracking beam 150-e, interference between tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may be significantly reduced or no longer present. Therefore, the satellite communication system can continue to provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-f without performing an inter-beam handoff.

[0088] If the interference (or potential interference) between beams is no longer at an unacceptable level (for example, if the interference index no longer meets a second threshold), the beams may again use the same resource elements. For example, tracking beam 150-f may revert to its original resource element (for example, by beam manager 175-b reassigning resource element A to tracking beam 150-f instead of resource element B) to provide communication services to mobile terminal 120-f. Alternatively, tracking beams 150-e and 150-f may continue to use different resource elements. For example, instead of changing the resource element of tracking beam 150-f back to resource element A, beam manager 175-b may allow tracking beam 150-f to continue using resource element B.

[0089] While the explanation in Figure 4 illustrates collisions between tracking beams, it should be noted that the same general explanation can be applied to collisions between tracking beams and stationary beams, and collisions between stationary beams. That is, collisions between beams can be prevented by using different resource elements for two beams (regardless of whether the beams are tracking beams, stationary beams, or one of each). Also, changing the resource elements of one of two colliding beams (regardless of whether the beams are tracking beams, stationary beams, or one of each) to different resources than the other beam can be used to improve collisions between beams.

[0090] Figure 5A shows an example of a satellite communications system 500 supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 500 may be an example of a satellite communications system described herein (for example, the satellite communications system 100 described with reference to Figure 1, or an embodiment thereof). The satellite communications system 500 may include a beam manager 175-c, which may be an example of the beam manager 175 described with reference to Figure 1, or an embodiment thereof.

[0091] As described herein, the satellite communications system 500 includes a satellite network 101, which may have one or more satellites 105 (for example, satellite 105-c). Satellite 105 is configured, instructed by a beam manager 175-c, to generate a beamformed spot beam for communicating with a group of mobile terminals as the mobile terminals move within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system.

[0092] A portion of the beamformed spot beam may be dedicated to each mobile terminal. These beams can track the movement of each mobile terminal through their respective mobile beam coverage area 160 as the beam manager 175-c provides communication services to the mobile terminals via the beams. These tracking beams are represented by solid arrows extending from satellite 105-c. In some examples, two or more tracking beams may use the same resource element (for example, if the tracking beams do not overlap).

[0093] A portion of the beamformed spot beam may remain substantially stationary when the beam manager 175-c provides communication services to mobile terminals via the beam. These fixed beams are represented by dashed arrows extending from satellite 105-c. Each fixed beam coverage area 560 of a fixed beam may remain stationary, centered on its respective geographical location 565. In some examples, fixed beams may be shared among multiple mobile terminals.

[0094] In some cases, a fixed beam can be generated in a similar manner to a tracking beam. For example, as described herein, both fixed and tracking beams can be formed using beamforming coefficients over multiple periods. However, the beamforming coefficients associated with a tracking beam may be determined and applied so that the tracking beam tracks each terminal (moves with the terminal), while the beamforming coefficients associated with a fixed beam may be determined and applied so that the fixed beam remains substantially stationary.

[0095] Each fixed beam may be associated with a stationary reference terminal, through which communication services may be provided to mobile terminals within the fixed beam coverage area of ​​the fixed beam. In some examples, two or more fixed beams may use the same resource elements (for example, if the fixed beams do not overlap).

[0096] In some examples, one or more tracking beams may be used to communicate with a mobile terminal located within a geographic area covered by a fixed beam (for example, by using different resource elements). In some examples, the tracking beam and fixed beam may communicate with the same mobile terminal. In some examples, the same satellite may provide both the tracking beam and the fixed beam.

[0097] In some examples, as shown in Figure 5A, the fixed beam is tiled across the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system, and can provide continuous or near-continuous coverage across the coverage area to multiple terminals. In other examples, as shown in Figure 6, the fixed beam may be concentrated in an area where beam congestion may occur (e.g., an urban area or an airport) and shared by multiple terminals. In some examples, one or more fixed beams may overlap. In some examples, the beam manager 175-c may assign overlapping fixed beams (e.g., beam coverage area 560 overlaps) to different resources (e.g., different frequencies or time slots). In some examples, a fixed beam may overlap with one or more tracking beams over a period of time (e.g., beam coverage area 560 overlaps with each of the beam coverage areas 160). In some examples, the beam manager 175-c may assign a fixed beam to a different resource than the tracking beams that overlap with the fixed beam over a period of time. In some examples, beam manager 175-c may use the same resource elements for fixed beams and tracking beams (for example, if the beam coverage areas 160 and 560 of the beams do not overlap). In some examples, beam manager 175-c may associate tracking beams with unicast traffic and fixed beams with multicast traffic.

[0098] In some examples, the satellite communications system 500 may, under the direction of the beam manager 175-c, provide communications services to multiple mobile terminals via a combination of tracking beams and fixed beams. As described herein, the beam manager 175-c may determine the type of beam to use with each mobile terminal (e.g., a fixed beam or a targeting beam) and when to switch beam types for a terminal. This is done by analyzing how a beam is, or will be, affected by an adjacent beam (e.g., comparing the performance used by a mobile beam versus a fixed beam). In some examples, the beam manager 175-c may first identify multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system.

[0099] In some examples, the satellite communication system 500 may, as instructed by the beam manager 175-c, provide communication services to a mobile terminal via a first set of beams 505 and a second set of beams 510. In some examples, the first set of beams 505 may include a tracking beam, and the second set of beams may include a fixed beam. In some examples, the first set of beams 505 and the second set of beams 510 may be disproportionate pairs.

[0100] In some examples, at least a portion of each beam coverage area 560 of the second set of beams 510 may overlap with at least a portion of each beam coverage area 160 of the first set of beams 505. In some examples, two or more of the beams 505, 510 of the first and / or second set may use the same resource elements (for example, if the beams do not overlap).

[0101] In some examples, to prevent collisions between a first set of beams and a second set of beams in a tiled environment, the first set of beams 505 may be associated with a first set of resource elements 515, and the second set of beams 510 may be associated with a second set of resource elements 520. For example, the first set of resource elements 515 may include a first set of frequencies and a first set of time slots, and the second set of resource elements 520 may include a second set of frequencies and a second set of time slots. In some examples, the first set of frequencies and the first set of time slots may not overlap with the second set of frequencies and the second set of time slots.

[0102] Figure 5B illustrates an example of how the beam manager 175-c in Figure 5A may provide communication services to a mobile terminal via tracking beams and fixed beams. For clarity, providing communication services to a mobile terminal is described in relation to a single mobile terminal 120-g and a single satellite 105-c. Spot beams 150-g and 150-i are tracking beams, and spot beam 150-h is a fixed beam. Both types of beams are provided by the same satellite 105-c in the illustration, but in some examples, each type of beam may be provided by a separate satellite. In some examples, tracking beams (e.g., spot beams 150-g and 150-i) may be included in a first set of beams 505, and fixed beams (e.g., spot beam 150-h) may be included in a second set of beams 510.

[0103] At position A, beam manager 175-c may assign a beamformed spot beam to the mobile terminal 120-g. The dedicated beamformed spot beam may be formed (for example, controlled by beam manager 175-a) to include the physical location of the terminal within the movable coverage area of ​​the beamformed spot beam. In connection with this, beam manager 175-c may assign resource elements associated with (for example, assigned to) a beam to the mobile terminal 120-g. For example, beam manager 175-c may assign a tracking beam 150-g and the respective resource elements 250-a associated with beam 150-g to the mobile terminal 120-g. The tracking beam 150-g may be formed to include the physical location of the terminal 120-g within the beam's coverage area 160-g.

[0104] The beam manager 175-c may use resource element 250-a to provide communication services to a mobile terminal 120-g at location A via the tracking beam 150-g. The beam manager 175-c may "move" the beam coverage area 160-g of the tracking beam 150-g to track the movement of the mobile terminal 120-g, as described herein. For example, as the mobile terminal 120-g moves from location A to location B along path 525, the beam manager 175-c may incrementally adjust the movable beam coverage area of ​​the tracking beam 150-g from 160-g1 to 160-g2 so that the location of the mobile terminal 120-g may remain within the beam coverage area of ​​the tracking beam 150-g. As a result, the beam manager 175-c may provide communication services to the mobile terminal 120-g via the tracking beam 150-g as the mobile terminal 120-g moves toward location B. The beam manager 175-c may monitor the performance of the tracking beam 150-g for the duration that communication services are provided to the mobile terminal 120-g via the tracking beam 150-g.

[0105] At location B, beam manager 175-c may determine that the performance of tracking beam 150-g (e.g., with respect to providing communication services to mobile terminal 120-g) has deteriorated and does not meet a performance threshold. In some examples, the performance threshold may be based on performance metrics associated with tracking beam 150-g and / or other nearby beams. In some examples, the performance threshold may be based on the performance metrics satisfying (e.g., meeting, exceeding, and / or falling below) a threshold. In some examples, performance metrics may include: the amount of interference associated with tracking beam 150-g; channel gain, receiver gain, interference level, or noise level associated with mobile terminal 120-g; the correlation between the channel of mobile terminal 120-g and the channels of other mobile terminals associated with the first set of beams 505; the distance between the beam coverage area 160-g of tracking beam 150-g and the respective beam coverage areas of the other beams 150; or the distance between mobile terminal 120-g and other mobile terminals; or a combination thereof.

[0106] In some examples, the performance threshold may be based on the positioning of the mobile terminal 120-g within the fixed beam coverage area of ​​the fixed beam. In some examples, the performance threshold may be based on the availability of resource elements.

[0107] In some examples, the performance threshold may vary based on performance metrics of other beams (e.g., nearby tracking beams and / or fixed beams) or may involve a comparison between one or more performance metrics of tracking beam 150-g and other beams. For example, the performance threshold may vary based on the intensity or congestion of nearby beams (e.g., tracking beams and / or fixed beams) or the location of nearby mobile terminals.

[0108] Based on the determination that the tracking beam 150-g does not meet the performance threshold, the beam manager 175-c may switch the mobile terminal 120-g to the second beam to provide it with communication services. In some examples, the second beam may be associated with a different beam type (e.g., a fixed beam) than the first beam. For example, the beam manager 175-c may switch the mobile terminal 120-g from the tracking beam 150-g to the fixed beam 150-h. In some examples, the second beam may be associated with a second set of beams 510. The beam manager 175-c may allocate resource elements associated with the second beam to the mobile terminal 120-g. For example, the beam manager 175-c may allocate resource element 250-b of the fixed beam 150-h to the mobile terminal 120-g. In some examples, the second beam may be shared among multiple mobile terminals.

[0109] The beam manager 175-c may use resource element 250-b to provide communication services to a mobile terminal 120-g at location B via a fixed beam 150-h. The fixed beam 150-h may have a fixed coverage area 560-a centered on each geographic location 565-a, and may remain centered on location C even as the mobile terminal 120-g moves toward location C along the path 530. As long as the mobile terminal 120-g remains within the beam coverage area 560-a of the fixed beam 150-h, communication services may be continuously provided to the mobile terminal 120-g by the beam manager 175-c via the fixed beam 150-h. The beam manager 175-c may monitor the performance of the fixed beam 150-h for the duration that communication services are provided to the mobile terminal 120-g via the fixed beam 150-h.

[0110] At location C, beam manager 175-c may determine that the performance of fixed beam 150-h (e.g., with respect to providing communication services to mobile terminal 120-g) has deteriorated and does not meet a second performance threshold. The second performance threshold may be the same as or different from the performance threshold at location B. In some examples, the second performance threshold may be based on a performance metric associated with fixed beam 150-h. For example, the performance metric associated with fixed beam 150-h may depend on the global characteristics of the beam (e.g., the traffic load present on fixed beam 150-h, or the number of mobile terminals associated with fixed beam 150-h). In some cases, the performance metric associated with fixed beam 150-h may depend on the associated mobile terminal, which in turn depends on terminal-specific characteristics (e.g., terminal-specific traffic load, terminal-specific signal quality (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio), etc.).

[0111] In some examples, a second performance threshold may be based on a performance metric meeting the threshold. In some examples, the performance metric may be the same or different performance metric used when deciding to switch mobile terminal 120-g from tracking beam 150-g to fixed beam 150-h at location B. In some examples, the performance metric may include one or more of the performance metrics described for tracking beam 150-g at location B. In some examples, the threshold may be the same or different threshold associated with tracking beam 150-g at location B.

[0112] Based on the determination that the fixed beam 150-h does not meet the second performance threshold, the beam manager 175-c may switch the mobile terminal 120-g to the third beam to make it available for receiving communication services. In some examples, the third beam may be associated with a different beam type than the second beam (for example, a tracking beam). For example, the beam manager 175-c may switch the mobile terminal 120-g from the fixed beam 150-h to the tracking beam 150-i dedicated to the mobile terminal. In some examples, the third beam may be associated with the first set of beams 505. The beam manager 175-c may allocate resource elements associated with the third beam to the mobile terminal 120-g. For example, the beam manager 175-c may allocate resource element 250-c of the tracking beam 150-i to the mobile terminal 120-g. In some cases, switching the mobile terminal 120-g from the fixed beam 150-h to the tracking beam 150-i may be performed based on the characteristics of the tracking beam 150-i (for example, the availability of one or more resource elements relative to the current position of the mobile terminal 120-g (for example, based on the positions of other tracking beams)).

[0113] The beam manager 175-c may use resource element 250-c to provide communication services to a mobile terminal 120-g at location C via a tracking beam 150-i, and may have the beam coverage area 160-i of the tracking beam 150-i track the movement of the mobile terminal 120-g. For example, the beam manager 175-c may incrementally adjust the beam coverage area of ​​the tracking beam 150-i from 160-i1 to 160-i2 as the mobile terminal 120-g moves from location C along path 535. As a result, the beam manager 175-c may provide communication services to the mobile terminal 120-g via the tracking beam 150-i as the mobile terminal 120-a moves away from location C. The beam manager 175-c may monitor the performance of the tracking beam 150-i for the duration that communication services are provided to the mobile terminal 120-g via the tracking beam 150-i. In some examples, tracking beam 150-i may be associated with similar parameters to tracking beam 150-g. For example, resource element 250-c may be the same as resource element 250-a.

[0114] At further locations (not shown), the beam manager 175-c may switch the beam again (for example, from a tracking beam to a fixed beam, or vice versa) to provide communication services to the mobile terminal 120-g based on the meeting of performance thresholds. This switching of beam types to communicate with the mobile terminal 120-g based on performance may be repeated by the beam manager 175-c at times or frequencies as needed.

[0115] In some examples, instead of starting with a tracking beam, communication with the mobile terminal may be initiated using a fixed beam. For example, beam manager 175-c may initially communicate with mobile terminal 120-g using fixed beam 150-h (for example, communication with mobile terminal 120-g may be initiated at position B). In some examples, instead of using a single satellite, the targeting beam and fixed beam may be provided by separate satellites.

[0116] In summary, the beam manager 175-c can continuously provide communication to the mobile terminal 120-g as it moves by switching between a tracking beam and a fixed beam based on the beam's performance.

[0117] Figure 6 shows an example of a satellite communications system 600 supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 600 may be an example of a satellite communications system described herein (for example, satellite communications system 100 described with reference to Figure 1) or an example of an embodiment thereof. The satellite communications system 500 may include a beam manager 175-d, which may be an example of a beam manager 175 or an example of an embodiment thereof, as described with reference to Figure 1.

[0118] Similar to the satellite communication system 500, communication may be provided to mobile terminals via a combination of targeting beams and fixed beams generated by one or more satellites 105 (e.g., satellite 105-d). However, instead of tiling the fixed beams to provide full or substantial coverage across the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system, the fixed beams may be concentrated in certain smaller areas (e.g., areas with a high concentration of mobile terminals) (e.g., urban areas or airports). When mobile terminals are concentrated in a small area, problems can arise if a separate beam is used for each mobile terminal (e.g., congestion problems). For example, a large number of resource elements may be required, and potentially these resource elements may become unavailable. Using fixed beams in such locations may reduce collision avoidance procedures because mobile terminals can share the same fixed beam.

[0119] As shown in Figure 6, terminal 620 may be located at airport 605 (for example, temporarily fixed or permanently installed) and receive a fixed beam 150-k. The beam coverage area 660 of the fixed beam may encompass the airport (including its terminals and gates, and aircraft 610 parked at gates). Terminal 620 may be a reference terminal to which communication services can be provided via the fixed beam 150-k to mobile terminals located at the airport. Therefore, while aircraft 610 is at airport 605 (for example, parked at a gate, taxiing, taking off, or landing), mobile terminals associated with the aircraft may receive communication services via the fixed beam 150-k associated with reference terminal 620. Thus, mobile terminals associated with aircraft at airport 605 may share the fixed beam 150-k.

[0120] Mobile terminals associated with aircraft outside an airport may receive communication services via other fixed beams or tracking beams, as described herein. When an aircraft arrives at an airport, mobile terminals associated with the aircraft may switch from the beam they are using (e.g., their respective tracking beams dedicated to the aircraft) to a shared fixed beam. For example, when aircraft 610-a is flying toward airport 605, the aircraft may receive communication services via a dedicated tracking beam 150-j, which has a mobile beam coverage area 160-j that tracks the aircraft. When aircraft 610-a lands at airport 605 and enters the fixed coverage area 660 of the fixed beam 150-k, the beam manager 175-d may switch each mobile terminal 610-a associated with the aircraft to receive communication services via the fixed beam 150-k instead of the tracking beam 150-j, and as a result, the mobile terminals may share the fixed beam 150-k with other mobile terminals at the airport.

[0121] Conversely, when an aircraft leaves the airport, the mobile terminals associated with the aircraft may be switched from the shared fixed beam to their respective tracking beams. For example, when aircraft 610-b is parked at a gate at airport 605, the aircraft may receive communication services via the shared fixed beam 150-k. When aircraft 610-b takes off (or arrives at a takeoff position), the beam manager 175-d may switch each mobile terminal 610-b associated with the aircraft to receive communication services via a dedicated tracking beam 150-m instead of the shared fixed beam 150-k. Because the tracking beam 150-m is dedicated to mobile terminals, the movable beam coverage area 160-m of the tracking beam 150-m can track aircraft 610-b as the aircraft flies away from airport 605.

[0122] In some examples, the fixed beam coverage area of ​​a fixed beam may be larger than the movable beam coverage area of ​​a tracking beam. In some examples, the reference terminal associated with the fixed beam may be configured to remain stationary at the airport.

[0123] In some cases, the reference terminal associated with a fixed beam may be selectively mobile. For example, a mobile terminal may be used as a reference terminal. To continue providing service to other mobile terminals at an airport, the mobile terminal may continue to be used as a reference terminal as long as it remains at the airport.

[0124] In some examples, a mobile terminal associated with an aircraft may be used as a reference terminal. To provide continuous service at the airport, the reference terminal may be switched from one mobile terminal to another when a mobile terminal leaves (or is about to leave) the airport (for example, based on the movement of the mobile terminal). For example, beam manager 175-d may determine a stationary aircraft (e.g., aircraft 610-c) (e.g., parked at a gate) and assign its mobile terminal as the reference terminal for a fixed beam. When the aircraft begins to move (e.g., backing away from the gate or taxiing), beam manager 175-d may determine (e.g., detect) the movement and determine (e.g., select) a second stationary aircraft and assign the second aircraft's mobile terminal as the new reference terminal. When the second aircraft begins to move, beam manager 175-d may assign the mobile terminal of a third stationary aircraft as the new reference terminal, and so on. As a result, the reference terminal may be switched between mobile terminals but remain at the airport and be shared among mobile terminals at the airport.

[0125] In some examples, the decision of which stationary mobile terminal to use as the next reference terminal may be based on the scheduled departure time of the corresponding aircraft. For example, beam manager 175-d may select the mobile terminal associated with the stationary aircraft with the latest scheduled departure time. In some examples, the decision may be based on the aircraft's position. For example, beam manager 175-d may select the mobile terminal associated with the stationary aircraft closest to the airport's center point.

[0126] Figure 7 shows an example of a satellite communications system 700 supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The satellite communications system 700 may be an example of a satellite communications system described herein (for example, satellite communications system 100 described with reference to Figure 1) or an example of an embodiment thereof. The satellite communications system 700 may include a beam manager 175-e, which may be an example of a beam manager 175 described with reference to Figure 1 or an example of an embodiment thereof.

[0127] The satellite communication system 700 includes a satellite network 101, which may have one or more satellites 105 (e.g., satellite 105-d). Satellite 105 is configured, as described herein, to be directed by a beam manager 175-e to generate beamformed spot beams 150 (e.g., beams 150-n, 150-p) for communication with a set of mobile terminals 120 (e.g., mobile terminal 120-h).

[0128] In the satellite communication system 700, two or more beams may be used to provide communication services to a terminal. For example, beam manager 175-e may provide communication services to terminal 120-h via spot beams 150-n and 150-p. In some examples, beams may be associated with different sets of beams, respectively. For example, spot beams 150-n and 150-p may be associated with a first set of beams 505 and a second set of beams 510, respectively.

[0129] In some examples, the communication service may include unicast traffic and multicast traffic communicated with terminal 120-h. In some examples, beam manager 175-e may communicate unicast traffic and multicast traffic with the mobile terminal 120-h via separate beams. In some examples, unicast traffic and multicast traffic may be associated with different types of beams. For example, beam manager 175-e may communicate unicast traffic 730 with the mobile terminal 120-h via a tracking beam 150-n, which may be associated with, for example, a first set of beams 505. Beam manager 175-e may communicate multicast traffic 735 with the mobile terminal 120-h via a fixed beam 150-p, which may be associated with, for example, a second set of beams 510. In some examples, in addition to using the fixed beam 150-p to communicate multicast traffic to the mobile terminal 120-h, the beam manager 175-e may also use the fixed beam 150-p to communicate multicast traffic to one or more other mobile terminals (e.g., mobile terminals on another aircraft). For example, the other aircraft may be configured to receive the same resource elements for the fixed beam 150-p that mobile terminal 120-h receives in order to receive multicast traffic. In some cases, the fixed beam 150-p may carry different multicast streams through different resources, and the mobile terminal 120 (e.g., mobile terminal 120-h) may be configured to receive one or more of these multicast streams. Although each type of beam is provided by the same satellite 105-d in the illustration, in some examples, each type of beam may be provided by separate satellites.

[0130] In some examples, the mobile terminal 120-h may be located on a vehicle 710 (e.g., an aircraft) having an internal network 715 for communication between a set of electronic devices 720 mounted on the vehicle. The internal network 715 may be one or more wired networks (e.g., Ethernet) or one or more wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi), or a combination of wired and wireless networks, or include these, and may be used to communicate with laptop computers, tablets, smartphones, and other devices (e.g., electronic devices carried by passengers of the vehicle). The mobile terminal 120-h may receive communication services from a satellite communication system 700 (e.g., via one or more antenna elements 740) via one or more beams and may provide communication services to the set of electronic devices 720 via the internal network 715. The beams may be targeting beams (e.g., targeting beam 150-n) or fixed beams (e.g., fixed beam 150-p), or a combination thereof.

[0131] In some examples, to provide communication services to a set of electronic devices 720, a mobile terminal 120-h may establish a connection with the set of electronic devices 720 via an internal network 715 and establish a communication link with a satellite communication system 700 via beam 150-n. In some examples, beam 150-n may be a spot beam that tracks the movement of the mobile terminal 120-h. After the connection and communication link are established, the mobile terminal 120-h may communicate traffic associated with each of the electronic devices 720 (e.g., unicast traffic 730) via beam 150-n.

[0132] In some examples, the mobile terminal 120-h may provide communication services to a set of electronic devices 720 using communication links associated with multiple beams. For example, the mobile terminal 120-h may provide communication services using communication links associated with a movable spot beam 150-n and a fixed spot beam 150-p. In some examples, beams 150-n and 150-p may be transmitted and received using a single antenna element 740. In other examples, each beam may be received / transmitted via its respective antenna element. The traffic associated with each beam may be decoded / encoded via different receivers / encoders associated with the antenna element (or multiple elements). Once received, the traffic of the two beams may be transmitted by the mobile terminal 120-h to the appropriate electronic device 720.

[0133] In some examples, the use of multiple beams (e.g., beams 150-n and 150-p) by a mobile terminal 120-h can be facilitated by "coupled" the mobile terminal 120-h to the beams. This may require coordinating communication across the beams so that each beam does not interfere with the other beams at the mobile terminal. That is, once coupled to separate beams, the mobile terminal can receive and process data from each beam. This coupling can be coordinated by a beam manager. For example, beam manager 175-e may cause traffic to communicate over tracking beam 150-n and fixed beam 150-p using different time slots. Alternatively, or in addition to that, beam manager 175-e may cause traffic to communicate over separate beams using different frequencies.

[0134] In some examples, in addition to providing electronic device 720 with communication services associated with normal communications (e.g., unicast traffic), mobile terminal 120-h may also provide electronic device 720 with communication services associated with data streams (e.g., multicast streams of data). In some examples, unicast traffic and multicast traffic may be communicated between mobile terminal 120-h and an external system (e.g., a satellite communication system) via different beams. For example, mobile terminal 120-h may communicate unicast traffic 730 between beam manager 175-e and electronic device 720 via beam 150-n. If electronic device 720-a determines that it has requested a multicast stream of data associated with an external system (e.g., outside vehicle 710), mobile terminal 120-h may establish a second communication link with satellite communication system 700 via beam 150-p. After the second communication link is established, the mobile terminal 120-h may communicate a multicast stream of data (e.g., multicast traffic 735) between the external system and the electronic device 720-a via the second communication link.

[0135] Therefore, the beam manager 175-e can communicate with the electronic device 720-a and unicast traffic 730 and multicast traffic 735 via the respective spot beams 150-n and 150-p. As a result, the mobile terminal 120-h can receive multicast traffic and deliver it to the requesting electronic device while simultaneously processing the unicast traffic associated with the electronic device. In some examples, the first beam and the second beam may communicate unicast traffic 730 and multicast traffic 735 to the electronic device 720-a using different resource elements. For example, the mobile terminal 120-h may receive beam 150-n on a first frequency range and beam 150-p on a second frequency range different from the first frequency range. For example, referring again to Figure 5A, mobile terminal 120-h may be within the mobile coverage area 160 of the tracking beam and may receive unicast traffic 730 via the tracking beam, and may also be within the fixed coverage area 560 of the fixed beam and may receive multicast traffic 735 via the fixed beam. In some cases, the fixed beam and the tracking beam may be allocated to orthogonal resources.

[0136] In some examples, beam 150-p may be created dynamically based on the demand for a multicast stream of data. For example, beam manager 175-e may create beam 150-p (for example, as a fixed beam) in response to an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 720-a) requesting a multicast stream of data. Beam 150-p may then be interrupted once the delivery of the multicast stream of data is complete. Once beam 150-p is created, mobile terminal 120-h may be coupled with beams 150-n and 150-p, and unicast traffic may continue to be communicated via beam 150-n while multicast traffic is being received via beam 150-p.

[0137] In some examples, multicast traffic 735 may be communicated with multiple electronic devices 720 via a mobile terminal 120-h. For example, if a second electronic device 720-b determines that it has requested the same multicast traffic 735 associated with an external system, the mobile terminal 120-h may also communicate multicast traffic 735 with the second electronic device 720-b.

[0138] Figure 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a beam manager 805 supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, according to an example disclosed herein. The beam manager 805 may be an example of the beam manager 175 in Figure 1. The beam manager 805 may include a bus 825, a terminal connection manager 870, a memory 830, a code 835, a processor 840, a beamformer 845, and a beam signal processor 850, and may be configured to control beam use by a mobile terminal, tracking of the mobile terminal with a beamformed spot beam, and allocation of resource elements and collision avoidance via an antenna array 810.

[0139] The beam manager 805 may be located within the ground network (e.g., ground network 135 in Figure 1) or satellite network (e.g., satellite network 101 in Figure 1) of the satellite communication system. Alternatively, the beam manager 805 may be split between the ground network and the satellite network. In one example (e.g., an example corresponding to a GBBF configuration), all components of the beam manager 805 may be located within the ground network. In another example (e.g., an example corresponding to an OBBF configuration), the beamformer 845 may be located within the satellite network (e.g., one or more satellites), and the remaining components of the beam manager 805 may each be located within either the ground network or the satellite network. In some examples, a distributed implementation may be used. For example, one or more components or parts of the beam manager 805 may reside on different servers (e.g., provided in the cloud). In some examples, the beam manager 805 may be located in a single entity.

[0140] Antenna array 810 may be an example of the antennas in satellite network 101 in Figure 1 and may include antenna elements 815. In some examples, one or more of the antenna elements 815 may be antenna panels or include antennas. The spacing between the antenna elements 815 may be evenly distributed across the aperture of antenna array 810, or the spacing between the antenna elements 815 may vary across antenna array 810. In some examples, a first antenna array 810 may be contained within a ground segment, and a second antenna array 810 (e.g., one or more antenna arrays coupled to each other using transponders) may be contained within a space segment. In some examples, antenna array 810 may include antenna elements associated with a fixed beam and antenna elements associated with a beamformed spot beam.

[0141] Bus 825 may represent an interface where signals can be exchanged between components of the beam manager 805 and a location that can be used to distribute signals to the signal processing components of the beam manager 805 (e.g., terminal connection manager 870, beam signal processor 850, beamformer 845). Bus 825 may include one or more wired interfaces. In addition to or instead of this, bus 825 may be a wireless interface used to wirelessly communicate signal transmission between signal processing components, for example, according to a communication protocol. The beamformer 845 may be coupled to the antenna element 815 via one or more wired or wireless interfaces.

[0142] Memory 830 may include volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and / or non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM). Other types of memory may also be possible. 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 the various functions described herein. The code 835 may be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium (e.g., system memory or another type of memory). In some cases, the code 835 may not be directly executable by the processor 840, but may cause the computer to perform the functions described herein (e.g., when compiled and executed). In some cases, memory 830 may include, among other things, a BIOS that can control the operation of basic hardware or software (e.g., interaction with peripheral components or devices).

[0143] The processor 840 may include intelligent hardware devices (e.g., general-purpose processors), DSPs, CPUs, microcontrollers, ASICs, FPGAs, PLDs, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The processor 840 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in memory (e.g., memory 830) to cause the beam manager 805 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam). For example, the processor 840 and memory 830 may be configured to perform the various functions described herein.

[0144] The beam signal processor 850 may be configured to process (e.g., demodulate, decode) the received beam signal 854 received from the beamformer 845. The beam signal processor 850 may decode the data symbols contained in the received beam signal 854 to obtain a received beam data signal 864. The information (e.g., packets) in the received beam data signal 864 may be passed to a destination device (e.g., via network(s) 125). The beam signal processor 850 may also be configured to process (e.g., encode, modulate) the transmitted beam data signal 862 to obtain a transmitted beam signal 852 and send it to the beamformer 845. The transmitted beam data signal 862 may contain information (e.g., packets) received (e.g., via network(s) 125) for transmission to terminal 120.

[0145] The terminal connection manager 870 may be configured to determine and direct changes to terminal connections for each fixed and spot beam. Relatedly, the terminal connection manager 870 may be configured to determine and direct changes to resource elements for each beam and / or mobile terminal. For example, if communication services should be provided to a mobile terminal via a new beam, the terminal connection manager 870 may allocate common resource elements to the new beam and the mobile terminal. For example, if a new time slot should be allocated to a beam to accommodate a mobile terminal, the terminal connection manager 870 may calculate a new beamforming coefficient based on the 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 a signal-to-noise ratio report from the terminal associated with the beam. In another example, if a beam should be moved to a new frequency range or channel, the CSI and beamforming coefficient from the old channel may not be applicable to the new channel because the RF characteristics will differ for each channel. The terminal connection manager 870 may cause a channel probing signal to be transmitted on a new frequency channel and may instruct the terminal 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, data packet scheduling may be paused while receiving the channel probe signal on the new channel.

[0146] In some examples, the terminal connection manager 870 may be configured to determine whether a mobile terminal should receive communication services from different types of beams. For example, if a mobile terminal receives communication services from a fixed beam, the terminal connection manager 870 may determine that the mobile terminal should receive communication services from a beamformed spot beam, and if a mobile terminal receives communication services from a beamformed spot beam, the terminal connection manager 870 may determine that the mobile terminal should receive communication services from a fixed beam. The terminal connection manager 870 may include a terminal tracking device 820 and an assignment manager 875.

[0147] The terminal tracking device 820 may be configured to determine the information that the beamformer 845 will use when forming a beamformed spot beam (e.g., the beamformed spot beam 150 in Figure 1) using the antenna element 815. To determine the information for forming the beamformed spot beam, the terminal tracking device 820 may identify a set of terminals to be assigned as reference terminals (e.g., the mobile terminal 120 in Figure 1) and may determine the spatial information associated with the reference terminals. The terminal tracking device 820 may determine a set of beamforming coefficients (e.g., phase shift, amplitude component) that the beamformer 845 may use to generate a beamformed spot beam having a separate coverage area directed to the spatial information associated with the reference terminals.

[0148] The terminal tracking device 820 may determine beamforming coefficients for separating signals transmitted through beamformed spot beams from each other. This is done, for example, by enhancing the signal transmitted within each beamformed spot beam and canceling out interference from signals transmitted within other beamformed spot beams. The beamforming coefficients may be contained in an MxN matrix, where the value of M may represent the number of antennas, the value of N may represent the number of space layers, and the value of N may be less than or equal to the value of M. In some examples, beamforming coefficients may be determined to generate a targeting spot beam and a fixed spot beam.

[0149] In some cases, the beamforming coefficient may be determined at one or more satellites 105. In some cases, the beamforming coefficient may be received by one or more satellites from one or more ground stations (e.g., network devices 130 or other stations of a ground network 135) after the terminal tracking device 820 has determined the beamforming coefficient.

[0150] The allocation manager 875 may be configured to perform beam resource allocation (including coordinating resource elements used by beams and mobile terminals). For example, for each allocation of fixed and beamformed spot beams, the allocation manager 875 may determine: one or more frequency ranges or channels (e.g., frequency channel 210 in Figure 2B), one or more periods and / or time slots (e.g., period 215, time slot t in Figure 2B), and / or polarity. To allocate the beam to the determined resource elements, the allocation manager 875 may include various components (e.g., frequency converters, schedulers, and polarization components).

[0151] The allocation manager 875 may also be configured to track which resource elements are allocated to which beams and mobile terminals and to determine when a reallocation of a resource element may be necessary. For example, the allocation manager may determine that a reallocation may be necessary based on the performance of the beam.

[0152] In some examples, to transmit a fixed and beamformed spot beam through the antenna element 815, the assignment manager 875 may determine a frequency range or channel, and / or a period and time slot to apply to a set of transmit beam signals 852 associated with the beam. The beamformer 845 may, based on the frequency range or channel, apply a set of transmit beamforming coefficients to a set of transmit beam signals 852 to obtain component signals 856 for transmission through the antenna element 815.

[0153] In some examples, to receive a beamformed spot beam via an antenna element 815, the terminal tracking device 820 may determine a set of received beamforming coefficients based on a frequency range or channel determined by the assignment manager 875 and obtain a set of component signals 856. The frequency range or channel and time slot may be applied to the component signals 856 by the assignment manager 875 or beamformer 845 to obtain a set of received beam signals 854 associated with the beamformed spot beam.

[0154] In some examples, the terminal tracking device 820, the assignment manager 875, the beamformer 845, the beam signal processor 850, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in hardware (e.g., communication management circuitry). Hardware may include processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs or other PLDs, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, configured as means for performing the functions described herein, or otherwise supporting such means. In some examples, a processor and 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 memory).

[0155] In addition to or instead of the above, the terminal tracking device 820, the assignment manager 875, the beamformer 845, the beam signal processor 850, or various combinations or components thereof may be implemented in code 835 executed by the processor 840 (for example, as communications management software or firmware). If implemented in code 835 executed by the processor 840, the functions of the terminal tracking device 820, the assignment manager 875, the beamformer 845, the 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 thereof, or other programmable logic device (for example, configured as a means for performing the functions described herein, or otherwise capable of supporting such means).

[0156] Figure 9 shows a block diagram 900 of a beam manager 920 supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The beam manager 920 may be an example of an embodiment of beam managers 175 and 805, as described with reference to Figures 1-8. The beam manager 920, or various components thereof, may be an example of means for performing various embodiments of beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, as described herein.

[0157] For example, the beam manager 920 may include a communication manager 925, a communication service supplier 930, a beamforming manager 935, a performance criterion 940, a resource element manager 945, a terminal identifier 950, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (for example, via one or more buses).

[0158] The communications manager 925 is configured as a means for providing communications services to mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system, as described herein, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, the communications manager 925 may include one or more of the other components of the beam manager 920. In some examples, the communications manager 925 may include a communications service supplier 930, a beamforming manager 935, a performance determiner 940, a resource element manager 945, and a terminal identifier 950.

[0159] The communication service supplier 930 may be configured as a means for providing communication services to a mobile terminal via a set of beams, as described herein, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, the set of beams may include a first set of beams configured to track the movement of each mobile terminal via their respective movable tracking beam coverage areas, and a second set of beams whose respective fixed beam coverage areas are centered on their respective geographical locations. In some examples, the set of beams may be associated with different resource elements. In some examples, the communication service supplier may be configured as a means for providing services to a first mobile terminal among a plurality of mobile terminals via a first beam of the first set of beams, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, the communication service supplier 930 may be configured as a means for switching the communication services of the first mobile terminal to be provided via a second beam, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, to support the provision of communication services, the communication service supplier 930 may be configured, or otherwise support such a means, to switch the provision of communication services to the first mobile terminal to be provided again via the first beam after providing communication services to the first mobile terminal via the second beam.

[0160] The beamforming manager 935 may be configured, or otherwise support such means, for adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​each set of beamformed spot beams as described herein to track the movement of a mobile terminal within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system. In some examples, the beamforming manager 935 may be configured, or otherwise support such means, for maintaining the fixed beam coverage area of ​​a second set of beamformed spot beams centered on their respective geographical locations. In some examples, the beamforming manager 935 may be configured, or otherwise support such means, for adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​a first beam to track the movement of a first mobile terminal. In some examples, the beamforming manager 935 may be configured, or otherwise support such means, for maintaining the beam coverage area of ​​a second beam centered on its respective geographical locations.

[0161] The performance deriveter 940 may be configured as a means for determining that the performance of a beam does not meet a performance threshold, as described herein, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, the performance deriveter 940 may be configured as a means for determining that the performance of a beam does not meet a performance threshold while providing communication services to mobile terminals via the beam, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, switching off the provision of communication services to mobile terminals may be based on the determination that the performance of the beam does not meet a performance threshold. In some examples, the performance threshold may be based at least in part on performance metrics (the performance metrics being associated with the beam) meeting the threshold. Performance metrics may include, for example, the beam coverage area or distance between mobile terminals, the amount of interference associated with the beam, etc.

[0162] The resource element manager 945 may be configured as a means for allocating resource elements to a mobile terminal to provide communication services, as described herein, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, the resource element manager 945 may be configured as a means for allocating resource elements of beams associated with a second set of beams to a mobile terminal based on the determination that the performance of the beams associated with a set of beams does not meet a performance threshold, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, to support the provision of communication services, the resource element manager 945 may be configured as a means for allocating resource elements of beams to a mobile terminal, or may otherwise support such means.

[0163] In some examples, the terminal identifier 950 is configured as a means for identifying a mobile terminal within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communications system, as described herein, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, the terminal identifier 950 is configured as a means for identifying multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communications system before providing communications services to multiple mobile terminals, or may otherwise support such a means.

[0164] In some examples, the communication service supplier 930 may be configured as a means for communicating a mobile terminal and unicast traffic associated with the mobile terminal via a beam, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, the communication service supplier 930 may be configured as a means for communicating a mobile terminal and multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal via a second beam, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, unicast traffic and multicast traffic associated with the mobile terminal may be communicated to the mobile terminal simultaneously via the first beam and the second beam, respectively. In some examples, unicast traffic and multicast traffic may be associated with the first beam set and the second beam set, respectively.

[0165] Figure 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a mobile terminal 1020 supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. Mobile terminal 1020 may be an example of an embodiment of a mobile terminal described with reference to Figures 1-7. Mobile terminal 1020, or various components thereof, may be examples of means for performing various embodiments of beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam, as described herein. For example, mobile terminal 1020 may include a communications manager 1025, a connection manager 1030, a link manager 1035, a request detector 1040, or any combination thereof. Each of these components may communicate with one another directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0166] The communications manager 1025 is configured as a means for providing communications services to electronic devices coupled to a mobile terminal via the vehicle's internal network, as described herein, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, the communications manager 1025 may include one or more other components of the mobile terminal 1020. In some examples, the communications manager 1025 may include a connection manager 1030, a link manager 1035, and a request detector 1040. In some examples, the communications manager 1025 is configured as a means for communicating unicast traffic associated with electronic devices via a first beam, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, the communications manager 1025 is configured as a means for communicating multicast traffic associated with electronic devices via a second beam, or may otherwise support such means. In some examples, communicating unicast traffic via the first beam and communicating a multicast stream of data via the second beam may be performed simultaneously.

[0167] The connection manager 1030 may be configured as a means for establishing connections with electronic devices via an internal network, as described herein, or may otherwise support such means.

[0168] The link manager 1035 may be configured as a means for establishing a communication link over a beam of the satellite communication system, as described herein, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, the link manager 1035 may be configured as a means for establishing a first communication link over a first beam of the satellite communication system for communicating a multicast stream of data, or may otherwise support such a means. In some examples, the link manager 1035 may be configured as a means for establishing a second communication link over a second beam of the satellite communication system for communicating a multicast stream of data, or may otherwise support such a means.

[0169] The request detector 1040 is configured as a means for determining, or otherwise supporting, an electronic device associated with an external system has requested a unicast and multicast stream of data, as described herein. In some examples, the request detector 1040 is configured as a means for determining, or otherwise supporting, a first electronic device has requested a multicast stream of data associated with an external system. In some examples, the request detector 1040 is configured as a means for determining, or otherwise supporting, a second electronic device has requested a multicast stream of data.

[0170] Figure 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 supporting beam sharing and coupling for a mobile satellite beam, as disclosed herein. The operation of method 1100 can be implemented by a satellite communication system or its components, as described herein. For example, the operation of method 1100 can be performed by a beam manager, as described with reference to Figures 1-9. In some examples, a processor may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the beam manager and perform the described functions. In addition to or instead of this, the beam manager may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0171] In 1105, the method may include providing communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system via a first set of beams and a second set of beams, wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area, and each fixed beam coverage area of ​​the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographical location. The operation of 1105 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the mode of operation of 1105 may be performed by a communication manager 925, as described with reference to Figure 9. In some examples, providing communication services may include the operations of 1110, 1115, 1120, and 1125.

[0172] In 1110, the method may include providing a communication service to a first mobile terminal among a plurality of mobile terminals via the first beam of a first set of beams. Operation of 1110 can be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1110 can be performed by a communication service supplier 930, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0173] In 1115, the method may include adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam to track the movement of the first mobile terminal. The operation of 1115 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1115 may be performed by the beamforming manager 935, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0174] In 1120, the method may include determining that the performance of the first beam does not meet a performance threshold while providing communication services to a first mobile terminal via the first beam. The operation of 1120 can be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1120 can be performed by a performance determiner 940, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0175] In 1125, the method may include switching to a communication service to a first mobile terminal via a second beam based on a determination that the performance of the first beam does not meet a performance threshold. The operation of 1125 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1125 may be performed by a communication service supplier 930, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0176] In some examples, the apparatus described herein may perform a method or method(s) (for example, Method 1100). The device may include features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions (e.g., a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor), or any combination thereof, for providing communication services to multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system via a first set of beams and a second set of beams, wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the multiple mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area, and each fixed beam coverage area of ​​the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographic location, and provides communication services to a first mobile terminal of the multiple mobile terminals via the first beam of the first set of beams, adjusts the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam to track the movement of the first mobile terminal, and determines that the performance of the first beam does not meet a performance threshold while providing communication services to the first mobile terminal via the first beam, and based on the determination that the performance of the first beam does not meet a performance threshold, switches to providing communication services to the first mobile terminal via the second beam.

[0177] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, providing a communication service may include operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for assigning resource elements of a second beam to a first mobile terminal, and providing a communication service to a first mobile terminal via a second beam includes providing a communication service to a first mobile terminal via a second beam using resource elements.

[0178] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, providing a communication service may include operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for assigning a second resource element of a first beam to a first mobile terminal, and providing a communication service to a first mobile terminal via the first beam includes providing a communication service to a first mobile terminal via the first beam using the second resource element.

[0179] Some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein may further include operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for identifying multiple mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system before providing communication services to multiple mobile terminals.

[0180] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the performance threshold is obtained based at least in part on a performance index that satisfies the threshold, and the performance index is associated with a first beam.

[0181] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the performance indicator may include the distance between the beam coverage area of ​​the first beam and the respective beam coverage areas of the other beams of the first set of beams, or the distance between the first mobile terminal and other mobile terminals of a plurality of mobile terminals. In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the performance indicator may include the amount of interference associated with the first beam.

[0182] In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, performance metrics may include the availability of resource elements.

[0183] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the performance indicator may include one or more of the channel gain, receiver gain, interference level, or noise level associated with the first mobile terminal. In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the performance indicator may include a correlation between the channel of the first mobile terminal and the channels of other mobile terminals associated with the first set of beams.

[0184] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, providing a communication service may include operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for switching the provision of the communication service to a first mobile terminal to be served via a third beam of the first set of beams, after having provided the communication service to the first mobile terminal via a second beam.

[0185] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, providing a communication service may include operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for determining that the performance of the second beam does not meet a second performance threshold while providing a communication service to a first mobile terminal via the second beam, and switching the provision of the communication service to the first mobile terminal to be served via a third beam is based on determining that the performance of the second beam does not meet a second performance threshold.

[0186] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, a second performance threshold may be based on the predicted performance difference between the second beam and the third beam. In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, a second performance threshold may be based on one or more interference indices between the second beam and further beams of the first set of beams associated with other mobile terminals of the plurality of mobile terminals.

[0187] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, a first set of beams may be associated with a first set of resource elements, and a second set of beams may be associated with a second set of resource elements.

[0188] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, a first set of resource elements may include a first set of frequencies and a first set of time slots, and a second set of resource elements may include a second set of frequencies and a second set of time slots, wherein the first set of frequencies and the first set of time slots do not overlap with the second set of frequencies and the second set of time slots.

[0189] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the second set of beams may include a plurality of tiled beams across the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system.

[0190] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, each fixed beam coverage area of ​​at least a portion of the second set of beams may overlap with each movable beam coverage area of ​​at least a portion of the first set of beams.

[0191] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam may include operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam so that each position of the first mobile terminal is included in the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam.

[0192] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, the first set of beams and the second set of beams may be dissimilar sets.

[0193] In some examples of the methods 1100 and apparatus described herein, the first beam and the second beam may be delivered via the same satellite.

[0194] Figure 12 shows a flowchart illustrating Method 1200, according to aspects of this disclosure, for supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam. The operation of Method 1200 may be implemented by a satellite communication system or its components, as described herein. For example, the operation of Method 1200 may be performed by a beam manager, as described with reference to Figures 1-9. In some examples, a processor may execute an instruction set to control the functional elements of the beam manager and perform the described functions. In addition to or instead of this, the beam manager may use dedicated hardware to perform aspects of the described functions.

[0195] In 1205, the method may include providing communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system via a first set of beams and a second set of beams, wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area, and each fixed beam coverage area of ​​the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographical location. The operation of 1205 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the manner in which the operation of 1205 is performed may be performed by a communication manager 925, as described with reference to Figure 9. In some examples, providing communication services may include the operations of 1210, 1215, and 1220.

[0196] In 1210, the method may include adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam of the first set of beams to track the movement of the first mobile terminal among a plurality of mobile terminals. The operation of 1210 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1210 may be performed by the beamforming manager 935, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0197] In 1215, the method may include communicating a first mobile terminal and unicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal via a first beam. The operation of 1215 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1215 may be performed by a communications service supplier 930, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0198] In 1220, the method may include communicating a first mobile terminal and multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal via the second beam of a second set of beams. The operation of 1220 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1220 may be performed by a communications service supplier 930, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0199] In some examples, the apparatus described herein may perform a method or method(s) (for example, Method 1200). The apparatus may include features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions (for example, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor), or any combination thereof, for providing communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals within the coverage area of ​​a satellite communication system via a first set of beams and a second set of beams, wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area, and each fixed beam coverage area of ​​the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographic location and adjusts the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam of the first set of beams to track the movement of a first mobile terminal among the plurality of mobile terminals, communicates the first mobile terminal with unicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal via the first beam, and communicates the first mobile terminal with multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal via the second beam of the second set of beams.

[0200] In some examples of the method 1200 and apparatus described herein, unicast traffic associated with a first mobile terminal and multicast traffic associated with a first mobile terminal can be communicated to the first mobile terminal simultaneously via a first beam and a second beam, respectively.

[0201] In some examples of the method 1200 and apparatus described herein, the first beam and the second beam may be supplied via the same satellite. In some examples of the method 1200 and apparatus described herein, the first beam may be supplied via the first satellite and the second beam may be supplied via the second satellite.

[0202] In some examples of the method 1200 and apparatus described herein, a first set of beams may be associated with a first set of resource elements, and a second set of beams may be associated with a second set of resource elements. In some examples of the method 1200 and apparatus described herein, the first set of resource elements may include the frequencies of the first set, the second set of resource elements may include the frequencies of the second set, and the frequencies of the first set may be different from the frequencies of the second set.

[0203] In some examples of the method 1200 and apparatus described herein, the second set of beams may include a plurality of tiled beams across the coverage area of ​​the satellite communications system.

[0204] Figure 13 shows a flowchart illustrating Method 1300, according to aspects of this disclosure, for supporting beam sharing and coupling to a mobile satellite beam. Operation of Method 1300 may be implemented by a satellite communication system or its components, as described herein. For example, operation of Method 1300 may be performed by a mobile terminal, as described with reference to Figures 1-7 and 10. In some examples, a processor may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the mobile terminal and perform the described functions. In addition to or instead of this, the mobile terminal may perform aspects of the described functions using dedicated hardware.

[0205] In 1305, the method may include a mobile terminal providing communication services to a set of electronic devices coupled to the mobile terminal via the vehicle's internal network. The operation of 1305 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1305 may be performed by a communication manager 1025, as described with reference to Figure 9. In some examples, providing communication services may include the operations of 1310, 1315, 1320, 1325, 1330, and 1335.

[0206] In 1310, the method may include establishing a connection with a set of electronic devices via an internal network. The operation of 1310 can be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1310 may be performed by a connection manager 1030, as described with reference to Figure 9.

[0207] In 1315, the method may include establishing a first communication link via a first beam of a satellite communication system. The operation of 1315 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1315 may be performed by a link manager 1035, as described with reference to Figure 10.

[0208] In 1320, the method may include communicating unicast traffic associated with a set of electronic devices over a first beam. The operation of 1320 can be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1320 can be performed by a communications manager 1025, as described with reference to Figure 10.

[0209] In 1325, the method may include determining that a first electronic device in a set of electronic devices has requested a multicast stream of data associated with an external system. The operation of 1325 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1325 may be performed by a request detector 1040, as described with reference to Figure 10.

[0210] In 1330, the method may include establishing a second communication link via a second beam of the satellite communication system. The operation of 1330 may be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1330 may be performed by a link manager 1035, as described with reference to Figure 10.

[0211] In 1335, the method may include communicating a multicast stream of data between an external system and a first electronic device via a second beam of a satellite communication system. The operation of 1335 can be performed by the examples disclosed herein. In some examples, the operation of 1335 may be performed by a communication manager 1025, as described with reference to Figure 10.

[0212] In some examples, the apparatus described herein may perform a method or method(s) (for example, Method 1300). The apparatus may include features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions (for example, a non-temporary computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor), or any combination thereof, for performing the following: providing communication services to a set of electronic devices coupled to the mobile terminal via an internal network of a vehicle; establishing a connection with the set of electronic devices via the internal network; establishing a first communication link via a first beam of a satellite communication system; communicating unicast traffic associated with the set of electronic devices via the first beam; determining that a first electronic device of the set of electronic devices has requested a multicast stream of data associated with an external system; establishing a second communication link via a second beam of a satellite communication system; and communicating a multicast stream of data between the external system and the first electronic device via the second beam of the satellite communication system.

[0213] In some examples of the method 1300 and apparatus described herein, communicating unicast traffic over a first beam and communicating a multicast stream of data over a second beam can be performed simultaneously.

[0214] In some examples of the method 1100 and apparatus described herein, providing a communication service may include, by a mobile terminal, determining that a second electronic device of a set of electronic devices has requested a multicast stream of data, and by the mobile terminal, operations, features, circuits, logic, means, or instructions, or any combination thereof, for communicating the multicast stream of data with the second electronic device.

[0215] In some examples of the method 1300 and apparatus described herein, a first beam may be received by a mobile terminal over a first frequency range, and a second beam may be received by a mobile terminal over a first frequency range different from the second frequency range.

[0216] In some examples of the method 1300 and apparatus described herein, the first beam may include a beamformed spot beam that tracks the movement of a mobile terminal.

[0217] These methods illustrate implementation examples, and it should be noted that operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified to enable other implementations. In some examples, embodiments from two or more of the methods may be combined. For example, each embodiment of the method may include steps or embodiments of other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein.

[0218] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of the various different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips which may be referenced throughout this description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0219] The various exemplary blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosures herein may be implemented or run by general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or other programmable logic devices, 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, a 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 combined with a DSP core, or any other similar configuration).

[0220] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof, performed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software performed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted through a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the accompanying claims. For example, depending on the nature of the software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof, performed by a processor. Features implementing the functions may be physically located in various locations, such as being distributed so that some of the functions are implemented in different physical locations.

[0221] Computer-readable media include both non-temporary computer storage media and communication media, and encompass any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one location to another. Non-temporary storage media can be any available media accessible by a general-purpose or dedicated computer. Examples, though not limited to, of non-temporary computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk read-only memory (CDROM) or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-temporary media that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures, and that are accessible by a general-purpose or dedicated computer, or a general-purpose or dedicated processor. Furthermore, any connection is precisely referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio, and microwave), then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology (e.g., infrared, radio, and microwave) are included in the definition of media. Disk and disc, as used herein, include CDs, laserdiscs, optical discs, digital multipurpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where a disk typically reproduces data magnetically, and a disc uses a laser to reproduce data optically. Any combination of the above is also included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0222] As used herein, the term "or" used in a list of items (for example, a list of items beginning with a phrase such as "at least one" or "one or more"), including in claims, indicates an inclusive list, 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 referring to a limited set of conditions. For example, a typical step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be construed in the same way as the phrase "at least partially based on."

[0223] In the attached diagram, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Furthermore, various components of the same type may be distinguished by adding a dash and a second label to distinguish similar components after the reference label. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description applies to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label, regardless of the second reference label or any other subsequent reference labels.

[0224] The descriptions herein, in relation to the accompanying drawings, describe exemplary configurations and do not represent all examples that may be implemented or that fall within the claims. The term “typical” as used herein means “serving as an example, case, or illustration,” and does not mean “preferred” or “advantageous over other examples.” Detailed descriptions include specific details necessary for understanding the described art; however, these arts may be implemented without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0225] The descriptions herein are provided to enable those skilled in the art to manufacture or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles set forth herein may be applied to other modifications without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, and should be given the broadest scope that is consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. It is a method, Providing communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals (120) within the coverage area (155) of a satellite communication system (100) via a first set of beams (505) and a second set of beams (510), wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area (160), and the fixed beam coverage area (560) of the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographic location (565), and providing the communication services is provided the provision of the communication services is provided via a first set of beams (505) and a second set of beams (510), wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area (160), and the fixed beam coverage area (560) of the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographic location (565), To provide the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) among the plurality of mobile terminals via the first beam (150-g) of the first set of beams, The movement of the first mobile terminal (120-g) is tracked by adjusting the movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g), During the provision of the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the first beam (150-g), it is determined that the performance of the first beam does not meet the performance threshold, A method comprising: switching the communication service of the first mobile terminal to be provided via the second beam (150-h) based on the determination that the performance of the first beam (150-g) does not meet the performance threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising identifying the plurality of mobile terminals (120) within the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100) before providing the communication service to the plurality of mobile terminals.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the performance threshold is at least partially based on a performance index that satisfies the threshold, and the performance index is associated with the first beam (150-g).

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the performance index includes the distance between the movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g) and the respective movable beam coverage areas (160) of the other beams of the first set of beams (505).

5. The method according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein the performance index includes the distance between the first mobile terminal (120-g) and other mobile terminals among the plurality of mobile terminals (120).

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the performance index includes the amount of interference associated with the first beam (150-g).

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the performance indicator includes the availability of resource elements for providing the communication service.

8. Providing the aforementioned communication service is The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising providing the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the second beam (150-h), and then switching the provision of the communication service to the first mobile terminal to be provided via the third beam (150-i) of the first set of beams.

9. Providing the aforementioned communication service is The method of claim 8, further comprising determining that the performance of the second beam does not meet a second performance threshold while providing the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the second beam (150-h), wherein the switching of the provision of the communication service to the first mobile terminal to be provided via the third beam (150-i) is at least based on the determination that the performance of the second beam (150-h) does not meet the second performance threshold.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the second performance threshold is at least partially based on the predicted performance difference between the second beam (150-h) and the third beam (150-i).

11. The method according to any one of claims 9 or 10, wherein the second performance threshold is at least partially based on one or more interference indices between the second beam (150-h) and further beams of the first set of beams (505) associated with other mobile terminals among the plurality of mobile terminals (120).

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first set of beams (505) is associated with the first set of resource elements (515), and the second set of beams (510) is associated with the second set of resource elements (520) to provide the communication service.

13. The first set of resource elements (515) includes a first set of frequencies and a first set of time slots, and the second set of resource elements (520) includes a second set of frequencies and a second set of time slots. The method according to claim 12, wherein the frequencies of the first set and the time slots of the first set do not overlap with the frequencies of the second set and the time slots of the second set.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the second set of beams (510) includes a plurality of tiled beams over the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system (100).

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein at least a portion of each of the fixed beam coverage areas (560) of the second set of beams (510) overlaps with at least a portion of each of the movable beam coverage areas (160) of the first set of beams (505).

16. Adjusting the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam is: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, comprising adjusting the movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g) so that each position of the first mobile terminal (120-g) is included within the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the first set of beams (505) and the second set of beams (510) are relatively prime sets.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the first beam (150-g) and the second beam (150-h) are provided via the same satellite (105).

19. Providing the aforementioned communication service is The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, further comprising allocating a resource element of the second beam (150-h) to the first mobile terminal (120-g), wherein the communication services of the first mobile terminal are provided via the second beam using the resource element.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein the second beam (150-h) is configured to transmit information associated with the communication service of the first mobile terminal (120-g) using a shared resource element.

21. Providing the aforementioned communication service is The method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, further comprising terminating the provision of the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the first beam (150-g).

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein the first beam (150-g) is dedicated to the first mobile terminal (120-g), and the second beam (150-h) is shared among two or more of the plurality of mobile terminals.

23. It is a method, Providing communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals (120) within the coverage area (155) of a satellite communication system (100) via a first set of beams (505) and a second set of beams (510), wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area (160), and the fixed beam coverage area (560) of the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographic location (565), and providing the communication services is provided the provision of the communication services is provided via a first set of beams (505) and a second set of beams (510), wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area (160), and the fixed beam coverage area (560) of the second set of beams is centered on its respective geographic location (565), The movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g) of the first set of beams is adjusted to track the movement of the first mobile terminal (120-g) among the plurality of mobile terminals, Communicating with the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the first beam (150-g) and unicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal, A method comprising communicating multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the second beam (150-h) of the second set of beams.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein unicast traffic (120-g) associated with the first mobile terminal and multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal are simultaneously communicated to the first mobile terminal via the first beam (150-g) and the second beam (150-h), respectively.

25. The method according to any one of claims 23 or 24, wherein the first beam (150-g) and the second beam (150-h) are delivered via the same satellite (105).

26. The method according to any one of claim 23 or 24, wherein the first beam (150-g) is provided via a first satellite (105) and the second beam (150-a) is provided via a second satellite (105).

27. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein the first set of beams (505) is associated with the first set of resource elements (515), and the second set of beams (510) is associated with the second set of resource elements (520).

28. The first set of resource elements (515) includes the frequencies of the first set, and the second set of resource elements (520) includes the frequencies of the second set. The method according to claim 27, wherein the frequencies of the first set are different from the frequencies of the second set.

29. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, wherein the second set of beams (510) includes a plurality of tiled beams over the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system.

30. Providing the aforementioned communication service is The method according to any one of claims 23 to 29, further comprising communicating multicast traffic associated with the second mobile terminal (120-h) via the second beam (150-h).

31. It is a method, The mobile terminal (120-h) provides a communication service to a set of electronic devices (720) coupled to the mobile terminal (120-h) via the vehicle's (710) internal network (715), and the provision of the communication service is Establishing a connection with the set of electronic devices (720) via the internal network (715), Establishing a first communication link via the first beam (150-n) of the satellite communication system (100), Communicating unicast traffic (730) associated with the set of electronic devices (720) via the first beam (150-n), The first electronic device (720-a) of the set of electronic devices determines that it has requested a multicast stream of data associated with an external system, Establishing a second communication link via the second beam (150-p) of the aforementioned satellite communication system, A method comprising communicating a multicast stream (735) of the data between the external system and the first electronic device (720-a) via the second beam (150-p) of the satellite communication system.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the communication of the unicast traffic (730) via the first beam (150-n) and the communication of the multicast stream (735) of the data via the second beam (150-p) are performed simultaneously.

33. Providing the aforementioned communication service is The mobile terminal (120-h) determines that the second electronic device (720-b) of the set of electronic devices has requested the multicast stream of the data, The method according to any one of claim 31 or 32, further comprising communicating the multicast stream (735) of the data with the second electronic device (720-b) using the mobile terminal (120-h).

34. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein the first beam (150-n) is received by the mobile terminal (120-h) over a first frequency range, and the second beam (150-p) is received by the mobile terminal (120-h) over a second frequency range different from the first frequency range.

35. It is a device, The apparatus includes a beam manager (175) associated with a memory device, the beam manager provides the apparatus with, To provide communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals (120) within the coverage area (155) of a satellite communication system (100) via a first set of beams (505) and a second set of beams (510), wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area (160), and the respective fixed beam coverage area (560) of the second set of beams is configured to provide services centered on its respective geographic location (565), and in order to provide the communication services, the beam manager is configured to provide the equipment, To provide the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) among the plurality of mobile terminals via the first beam (150-g) of the first set of beams, The movement of the first mobile terminal (120-g) is tracked by adjusting the movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g), During the provision of the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the first beam (150-g), it is determined that the performance of the first beam does not meet the performance threshold, A device configured to switch the communication service of the first mobile terminal to be provided via the second beam (150-h) based on the determination that the performance of the first beam (150-g) does not meet the performance threshold.

36. The beam manager (175) further provides the device with: The apparatus according to claim 35, configured to identify the plurality of mobile terminals (120) within the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system (100) before providing the communication service to the plurality of mobile terminals.

37. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 or 36, wherein the performance threshold is at least partially based on a performance index that satisfies the threshold, and the performance index is associated with the first beam (150-g).

38. The apparatus according to claim 37, wherein the performance index includes the distance between the movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g) and the respective movable beam coverage areas (160) of the other beams of the first set of beams (505).

39. The apparatus according to claim 37 or 38, wherein the performance indicator includes the distance between the first mobile terminal (120-g) and other mobile terminals among the plurality of mobile terminals (120).

40. The apparatus according to any one of claims 37 to 39, wherein the performance index includes the amount of interference associated with the first beam (150-g).

41. The apparatus according to any one of claims 37 to 40, wherein the performance indicator includes the availability of resource elements for providing the communication service.

42. In order to provide the aforementioned communication service, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 41, configured to, after providing the communication service to the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the second beam (150-h), switch the provision of the communication service by the first mobile terminal to be provided via the third beam (150-i) of the first set of beams.

43. In order to provide the aforementioned communication service, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The apparatus according to claim 42, configured to determine if the performance of the second beam does not meet a second performance threshold while the first mobile terminal (120-g) is providing the communication service via the second beam (150-h), and the switching of the provision of the communication service by the first mobile terminal to be provided via the third beam (150-i) is based on the determination that the performance of the second beam (150-h) does not meet a second performance threshold.

44. The apparatus according to claim 43, wherein the second performance threshold is based on the predicted performance difference between the second beam (150-h) and the third beam (150-i).

45. The apparatus according to any one of claims 43 or 44, wherein the second performance threshold is based on one or more interference indices between the second beam (150-h) and further beams of the first set of beams (505) associated with other mobile terminals among the plurality of mobile terminals (120).

46. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 45, wherein the first set of beams (505) is associated with the first set of resource elements (515), and the second set of beams (510) is associated with the second set of resource elements (520) to provide the communication service.

47. The first set of resource elements (515) includes a first set of frequencies and a first set of time slots, and the second set of resource elements (520) includes a second set of frequencies and a second set of time slots. The apparatus according to claim 46, wherein the frequencies of the first set and the time slots of the first set do not overlap with the frequencies of the second set and the time slots of the second set.

48. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 47, wherein the second set of beams (510) includes a plurality of tiled beams over the coverage area of ​​the satellite communication system (100).

49. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 48, wherein at least a portion of each of the fixed beam coverage areas (560) of the second set of beams (510) overlaps with at least a portion of each of the movable beam coverage areas (160) of the first set of beams (505).

50. To adjust the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 49, configured to adjust the movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g) so that each position of the first mobile terminal (120-g) is included within the movable beam coverage area of ​​the first beam.

51. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 50, wherein the first set of beams (505) and the second set of beams (510) are relatively prime sets.

52. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 51, wherein the first beam (150-g) and the second beam (150-h) are provided via the same satellite (105).

53. In order to provide the aforementioned communication service, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 52, configured to cause the resource elements of the second beam (150-h) to be allocated to the first mobile terminal (120-g), wherein the communication services of the first mobile terminal are provided via the second beam using the resource elements.

54. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 53, wherein the second beam (150-h) is configured to transmit information associated with the communication service of the first mobile terminal (120-g) using a shared resource element.

55. In order to provide the aforementioned communication service, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 54, configured to terminate the provision of the communication service via the first beam (150-g) to the first mobile terminal (120-g).

56. The apparatus according to any one of claims 35 to 55, wherein the first beam (150-g) is dedicated to the first mobile terminal (120-g), and the second beam (150-h) is shared among two or more of the plurality of mobile terminals.

57. It is a device, The apparatus includes a beam manager (175) associated with a memory device, the beam manager provides the apparatus with, To provide communication services to a plurality of mobile terminals (120) within the coverage area (155) of a satellite communication system (100) via a first set of beams (505) and a second set of beams (510), wherein the first set of beams is configured to track the movement of each of the plurality of mobile terminals via its respective movable beam coverage area (160), and the respective fixed beam coverage area (560) of the second set of beams is configured to provide services centered on its respective geographic location (565), and in order to provide the communication services, the beam manager is configured to provide the equipment, The movable beam coverage area (160) of the first beam (150-g) of the first set of beams is adjusted to track the movement of the first mobile terminal (120-g) among the plurality of mobile terminals, Communicating with the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the first beam (150-g) and unicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal, A device configured to communicate multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal (120-g) via the second beam (150-h) of the second set of beams.

58. The apparatus according to claim 57, wherein unicast traffic (120-g) associated with the first mobile terminal and multicast traffic associated with the first mobile terminal are simultaneously communicated to the first mobile terminal via the first beam (150-g) and the second beam (150-h), respectively.

59. The apparatus according to any one of claims 57 or 58, wherein the first beam (150-g) and the second beam (150-h) are provided via the same satellite (105).

60. The apparatus according to any one of claims 57 or 58, wherein the first beam (150-g) is provided via a first satellite (105) and the second beam (150-a) is provided via a second satellite (105).

61. The apparatus according to any one of claims 57 to 60, wherein the first set of beams (505) is associated with the first set of resource elements (515), and the second set of beams (510) is associated with the second set of resource elements (520).

62. The first set of resource elements (515) includes the frequencies of the first set, and the second set of resource elements (520) includes the frequencies of the second set. The apparatus according to claim 61, wherein the frequencies of the first set are different from the frequencies of the second set.

63. The apparatus according to any one of claims 57 to 62, wherein the second set of beams (510) includes a plurality of tiled beams over the coverage area (155) of the satellite communication system.

64. In order to provide the aforementioned communication service, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The apparatus according to any one of claims 57 to 63, configured to communicate with a second mobile terminal (120-h) via the second beam (150-h) and multicast traffic associated with the second mobile terminal.

65. It is a device, The device includes a beam manager (175) associated with a mobile terminal (120-h), the beam manager providing the device with, The mobile terminal (120-h) is configured to cause a set of electronic devices (720) coupled to the mobile terminal (120-h) to provide communication services via the vehicle's (710) internal network (715), and in order to provide the communication services, the beam manager provides the device, Establishing a connection with the set of electronic devices (720) via the internal network (715), Establishing a first communication link via the first beam (150-n) of the satellite communication system (100), Communicating unicast traffic (730) associated with the set of electronic devices (720) via the first beam (150-n), The first electronic device (720-a) of the set of electronic devices determines that it has requested a multicast stream of data associated with an external system, Establishing a second communication link via the second beam (150-p) of the aforementioned satellite communication system, A device configured to communicate a multicast stream (735) of data between the external system and the first electronic device (720-a) via the second beam (150-p) of the satellite communication system.

66. The apparatus according to claim 65, wherein the communication of the unicast traffic (730) via the first beam (150-n) and the communication of the multicast stream (735) of the data via the second beam (150-p) are performed simultaneously.

67. In order to provide the aforementioned communication service, the beam manager (175) further provides the device, The mobile terminal (120-h) determines that the second electronic device (720-b) of the set of electronic devices has requested the multicast stream of the data, The apparatus according to claim 65 or 66, wherein the mobile terminal (120-h) is configured to communicate with the second electronic device (720-b) and the multicast stream (735) of the data.

68. The apparatus according to any one of claims 65 to 67, wherein the first beam (150-n) is received by the mobile terminal (120-h) over a first frequency range, and the second beam (150-p) is received by the mobile terminal (120-h) over a second frequency range different from the first frequency range.

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