Wireless communication system, wireless communication method, network controller, and program

Abstract

In the wireless communication system according to the present disclosure, communication between a terminal station and a core network is performed via a wireless network that includes a plurality of air node stations and a plurality of ground base stations. A network controller establishes a communication path by linking at least one air node station among the plurality of air node stations and one ground base station among the plurality of ground base stations. The network controller allocates, to a communication path for a band-guaranteed user, one or more priority communication links selected from a plurality of communication links constituting the wireless network. Next, the network controller corrects the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more priority communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the band-guaranteed user. Then, the network controller determines a communication link to be allocated to a communication path for a non-band-guaranteed user on the basis of the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

Description

Wireless communication system, wireless communication method, network controller, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system and a wireless communication method that utilize a non-terrestrial network, as well as a network controller and a program suitable for the wireless communication system.

[0002] In recent years, mobile communication systems have evolved, enabling mobile services to be enjoyed over most of the earth. Ultra-coverage is one of the requirements for the 5th generation (Beyond 5G) or 6th generation mobile communication systems, which are expected to be commercialized in the future. Ultra-coverage refers to expanding the service area to locations where the cost of installing existing base stations is high or difficult, such as mountains, oceans, and the air. Furthermore, there is a need to strengthen the nation's resilience against natural disasters, and the emergence of communication systems that are resistant to terrestrial disasters is desirable.

[0003] As a means for realizing the above-mentioned requirements, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) have attracted attention. Non-terrestrial networks are wireless networks that use node stations deployed in the air or space, such as satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), high altitude pseudo satellites (HAPSs), and drones. In non-terrestrial networks, the node stations form a network by connecting with each other through communication links, and are further connected to terrestrial mobile networks via terrestrial base stations.

[0004] In non-terrestrial networks, node stations are equipped with mobile base station functions. Traffic packets generated by terminal stations are forwarded within the non-terrestrial network to node stations that can communicate with terrestrial base stations using routing functions, and then sent to the core network via the terrestrial base station. Packets sent from the core network to terminal stations are also processed in the same way using the routing functions of the non-terrestrial network.

[0005] Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional technique for selecting a communication route when routing in a non-terrestrial network. In the conventional technique, a communication route is selected that minimizes the cost value C calculated by the following formula (1). However, in formula (1), Cｉ is the cost value of communication link i, n is the total number of links included in the communication path, and R ｉ is the link capacity of communication link i, and B ｒ is the reference value of the link capacity.

[0006] Tada, Nishiyama, Yoshimura, and Kato, "A Study on Efficient Routing Control in Hierarchical Satellite Networks," IEICE Technical Report SAT2010-9

[0007] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology controls communication paths for transmitting traffic without distinguishing between bandwidth-guaranteed users and non-bandwidth-guaranteed users such as best-effort users. Therefore, in a system where bandwidth-guaranteed users and non-bandwidth-guaranteed users coexist, when a bandwidth-guaranteed user attempts to transmit traffic using its assigned communication path, some communication links within the communication path may be congested due to traffic from non-bandwidth-guaranteed users. In such a case, it is possible that the bandwidth-guaranteed user will not be able to obtain the throughput that should be guaranteed.

[0008] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technique that, in a system in which both bandwidth-guaranteed users and non-bandwidth-guaranteed users exist, enables bandwidth-guaranteed users to ensure the throughput that should be guaranteed without being affected by non-bandwidth-guaranteed users.

[0009] The present disclosure provides a wireless communication system to achieve the above-mentioned object. The wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a system for performing communication between a terminal station and a core network via a wireless network including a plurality of airborne node stations and a plurality of terrestrial base stations. The wireless communication system includes a network controller. The network controller is configured to establish a communication path by linking at least one of the plurality of airborne node stations with one of the plurality of terrestrial base stations. More specifically, the network controller is configured to: assign one or more prioritized communication links selected from a plurality of communication links constituting the wireless network to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user; correct the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links; and determine a communication link to be assigned to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

[0010] The present disclosure also provides a wireless communication method for achieving the above-mentioned object. The wireless communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for performing communication between a terminal station and a core network via a wireless network including a plurality of aerial node stations and a plurality of terrestrial base stations. The wireless communication method includes: establishing a communication path by linking at least one of the plurality of aerial node stations with one of the plurality of terrestrial base stations; allocating one or more prioritized communication links selected from a plurality of communication links constituting the wireless network to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user; correcting the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links; and determining a communication link to be allocated to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

[0011] The present disclosure also provides a network controller for achieving the above object. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network controller is provided in a wireless communication system that performs communication between a terminal station and a core network via a wireless network including a plurality of aerial node stations and a plurality of terrestrial base stations. The network controller includes a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to: establish a communication path by linking at least one of the plurality of aerial node stations with one of the plurality of terrestrial base stations; assign one or more prioritized communication links selected from a plurality of communication links constituting the wireless network to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user; correct the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links; and determine a communication link to be assigned to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

[0012] Furthermore, the present disclosure provides a program for achieving the above object. The program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a program including instructions for causing a processor to execute the processing performed by the network controller. The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium or provided via a network.

[0013] According to the technology of the present disclosure, when there is a mixture of bandwidth-guaranteed and non-guaranteed users, a prioritized communication link is first selected from multiple communication links constituting a wireless network and assigned to a communication path for the bandwidth-guaranteed users. The maximum link capacity of each prioritized communication link is corrected by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed users. Then, a communication link to be assigned to a communication path for the non-guaranteed users is determined based on the maximum link capacity of each of the multiple communication links including the prioritized communication link. This allows the bandwidth-guaranteed users to ensure the throughput they should be guaranteed without being affected by the non-guaranteed users.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating conventional communication control using a non-terrestrial network. Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating communication control by a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a node station-equipped communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a network controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0015] Hereinafter, a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] 1. Configuration of Wireless Communication System First, an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the wireless communication system 2 includes a non-terrestrial network (NTN) 15 formed from a plurality of airborne node stations (hereinafter simply referred to as node stations) deployed in the sky. The non-terrestrial network 15 includes three types of networks 15A, 15B, 15C, and 15D at different altitudes. These three types of networks 15A, 15B, and 15C are connected by communication links.

[0017] The first network is a low altitude network 15A formed by connecting a first group of node stations 5A deployed at relatively low altitudes via communication links. Hereinafter, the node stations 5A of the first group that make up the low altitude network 15A will be referred to as low altitude node stations. The second network is a medium altitude network 15B formed by connecting a second group of node stations 5B deployed at relatively medium altitudes via communication links. Hereinafter, the node stations 5B of the second group that make up the medium altitude network 15B will be referred to as medium altitude node stations. The third network is a high altitude network 15C formed by connecting a third group of node stations 5C deployed at relatively high altitudes via communication links. Hereinafter, the node stations 5C of the third group that make up the high altitude network 15C will be referred to as high altitude node stations.

[0018] Node stations can be geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, medium orbit (MEO) satellites, low orbit (LEO) satellites, high altitude pseudo satellites (HAPS), as well as drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and aircraft. Typically, GEO satellites are used as high-altitude node stations 5C, and MEO satellites and LEO satellites are used as medium-altitude node stations 5B. HAPS, drones, UAVs, and aircraft are used as low-altitude node stations 5A. However, whether a node station is a high-altitude node station 5C, a medium-altitude node station 5B, or a low-altitude node station 5A depends on the relative altitude differences between the node stations that make up the non-terrestrial network 15. Therefore, if the node stations that make up the non-terrestrial network 15 are GEO satellites, MEO satellites, and LEO satellites, the LEO will be the low-altitude node station 5A. Also, if the node stations that make up the non-terrestrial network 15 are MEO satellites, LEO satellites, and HAPS, the MEO satellites become the high altitude node stations 5C.

[0019] The types of networks included in the non-terrestrial network 15 are not necessarily limited to the three types of low altitude, medium altitude, and high altitude. The non-terrestrial network 15 may be composed of two types of networks: low altitude and high altitude. For example, the non-terrestrial network 15 may be composed of a GEO network using GEO satellites as high altitude node stations and a HAPS network using HAPS as low altitude node stations. Furthermore, the non-terrestrial network 15 may include only one type of network.

[0020] In the non-terrestrial network 15 shown in FIG. 1 , the low altitude network 15A is linked to the terrestrial base station 3 and connected to the core network 14, which is a terrestrial network, via the terrestrial base station 3. Similarly, the medium altitude network 15B and the high altitude network 15C are linked to the terrestrial base station 3 and connected to the core network 14 via the terrestrial base station 3. A communication link is also established between a node station 5A belonging to the low altitude network 15A and a node station 5B belonging to the medium altitude network 15B. A communication link is also established between a node station 5B belonging to the medium altitude network 15B and a node station 5C belonging to the high altitude network 15C. Furthermore, a communication link can also be established between a node station 5A belonging to the low altitude network 15A and a node station 5C belonging to the high altitude network 15C. The communication link between the node stations may be realized by radio wave wireless communication or other wireless communication such as optical communication. Each communication link includes a communication line and a control line.

[0021] Each node station constituting the non-terrestrial network 15 has a routing function. Each node station transmits packets to a destination by transferring packets between other node stations. Each node station also has a mobile base station function. A terminal station 4 connects to one of the node stations and connects to the core network 14 via the non-terrestrial network 15. The terminal station 4 can connect to the Internet via the core network 14.

[0022] The wireless communication system 2 includes a network controller 10. The network controller 10 is placed in the air and connected to a non-terrestrial network 15. The network controller 10 is a device that establishes a communication path by linking at least one of the multiple node stations 5A, 5B, and 5C that form the non-terrestrial network 15 with one of the multiple terrestrial base stations 3. However, the network controller 10 may also be placed on the ground and connected to a core network 14. In this specification, a network including the non-terrestrial network 15 and the terrestrial base station 3 is collectively referred to as a wireless network. Details of the functions of the network controller 10 will be explained later.

[0023] 2. Communication Control Using a Wireless Communication System First, conventional communication control using a non-terrestrial network will be described with reference to Figure 2. In the example shown in Figure 2, the non-terrestrial network consists of a low altitude network 16 and a high altitude network 17. The low altitude network 16 includes node stations 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3 connected by communication links. An example of the node stations 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3 is a HAPS. The high altitude network 17 includes a node station 7-1. An example of the node station 7-1 is a GEO satellite. The low altitude network 16 and the high altitude network 17 are connected by communication links. In this example, each of the node stations 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3 is connected to the node station 7-1 by a communication link.

[0024] The non-terrestrial network is connected to the core network 14 via terrestrial base stations 3-1 and 3-2. A node station 6-2 forming a low altitude network 16 is connected to the terrestrial base station 3-1 via a communication link. A node station 7-1 forming a high altitude network 17 is connected to the terrestrial base station 3-2 via a communication link.

[0025] Now, suppose that terminal station 4-1, a bandwidth-guaranteed user, is linked to node station 6-1. In conventional communication control, the communication path for communication between terminal station 4-1 and core network 14 is selected based on the cost calculated by the above-mentioned formula (1). In the example shown in FIG. 2, the communication path with the smallest cost value is communication path R1, which includes communication link L1 connecting node station 6-1 and node station 6-2, and communication link L2 connecting node station 6-2 and terrestrial base station 3-1. Therefore, communication path R1 is assigned to terminal station 4-1.

[0026] Next, assume that the terminal station 4-2 of a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user is also linked to the node station 6-1. Equation (1) is also used to calculate the communication path for communication between the terminal station 4-2 and the core network 14, and the communication path with the smallest cost value is selected. The candidate communication paths for the terminal station 4-2 include a communication path R2-1 from the node station 6-1 to the terrestrial base station 3-1 via the node station 6-2, and a communication path R2-2 from the node station 6-1 to the terrestrial base station 3-2 via the node station 7-1. According to equation (1), when the number of communication links included in a communication path is the same, the larger the maximum link capacity of each communication link, the smaller the cost value. Comparing the communication paths R2-1 and R2-2, the maximum link capacities of the communication links L1 and L2 constituting the communication path R2-1 are both 100 Mbps, while the maximum link capacities of the communication links L3 and L4 constituting the communication path R2-2 are both 90 Mbps. Therefore, since the cost value of the communication route R2-1 is smaller than that of the communication route R2-2, the communication route R2-1 is assigned to the terminal station 4-2.

[0027] However, the communication route R1 assigned to the terminal station 4-1 and the communication route R2-1 assigned to the terminal station 4-2 are composed of the same communication links L1 and L2. As a result, traffic is concentrated on the communication links L1 and L2, and there is a possibility that the bandwidth-guaranteed users will not be able to obtain the throughput that they should be guaranteed due to the traffic congestion.

[0028] In contrast to conventional communication control that has such problems, the wireless communication system 2 performs communication control as will be explained using Fig. 3. In order to clarify the difference between the communication control by the wireless communication system 2 and conventional communication control, the configuration of the wireless network used in the explanation is assumed to be the same as the configuration shown in Fig. 2.

[0029] 3, the wireless communication system 2 includes a network controller 10 disposed in a high altitude network 17. For example, if the high altitude network 17 is a GEO network, the network controller 10 is also mounted on a GEO satellite. However, the network controller 10 may be disposed in a low altitude network 16 or on the ground.

[0030] The network controller 10 monitors the usage status of communication links by bandwidth-guaranteed users. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the bandwidth guaranteed for the terminal station 4-1 of the bandwidth-guaranteed user is assumed to be 20 Mbps. In this case, a maximum of 20 Mbps will be used by the bandwidth-guaranteed user on each of the communication links L1 and L2 included in the communication path R1 assigned to the terminal station 4-1. In this case, to guarantee a link capacity of 20 Mbps to the bandwidth-guaranteed user, the link capacity used by non-bandwidth-guaranteed users must be reliably limited to 80 Mbps or less, calculated by subtracting 20 Mbps from the maximum link capacity of 100 Mbps.

[0031] Therefore, the network controller 10 treats the communication links L1 and L2 included in the communication path R1 of the bandwidth-guaranteed user as prioritized communication links that are prioritized for allocation to the bandwidth-guaranteed user. The network controller 10 corrects the maximum link capacity of the prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity. For the communication links L1 and L2, the corrected maximum link capacity is set to 80 Mbps, which is obtained by subtracting 20 Mbps from the maximum link capacity of 100 Mbps. By correcting the maximum link capacity of the prioritized communication links in this way, the cost value of the communication path including the prioritized communication link increases, making it less likely to be selected as a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user.

[0032] Specifically, when determining the next communication route after the communication route R1, the network controller 10 calculates the cost value C using the following formula (2) instead of formula (1), and selects the communication route with the smallest cost value C as the communication route for the non-bandwidth guaranteed user. ｉ is the cost value of communication link i, n is the total number of links included in the communication path, and R ｉ is the link capacity of communication link i, and r ｉ is the traffic flow rate of communication link i, and δ ｉ is the congestion degree of communication link i, and B ｒ is the reference value of the link capacity. R is the total value of the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed users in the communication link i. In other words, if there are multiple bandwidth-guaranteed users in the communication link i, the total value of the link capacity guaranteed to each of the bandwidth-guaranteed users is calculated as R, and the maximum link capacity R of the communication link i is ｉ is deducted from

[0033] In the example shown in Figure 3, communication routes R2-1 and R2-2 are available as communication routes available to terminal station 4-2, a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user. In the calculation of the cost value using equation (1), the cost value of communication route R2-1 is smaller than that of communication route R2-2, and therefore communication route R2-1 is assigned to terminal station 4-2. On the other hand, the cost values ​​of communication routes R2-2 and R2-1 calculated using equation (2) are as follows:

[0034] As shown in the calculation results above, by using equation (2), the cost value of communication path R2-1, which includes the bandwidth-guaranteed user's preferred communication link, is larger than that of communication path R2-2. As a result, communication path R2-2 is assigned to terminal station 4-2, and overlap with communication path R1, which is assigned to terminal station 4-1 of the bandwidth-guaranteed user, is reduced. In equation (2), the maximum link capacity is corrected assuming that the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user is being used, rather than the actual traffic flow rate of terminal station 4-1 of the bandwidth-guaranteed user. This reliably increases the cost value of communication paths including the bandwidth-guaranteed user's preferred communication link, making it less likely that the path will be selected as a communication path for non-bandwidth-guaranteed users.

[0035] As described above, in the wireless communication system 2, a prioritized communication link selected from a plurality of communication links is assigned to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user. The maximum link capacity of each prioritized communication link is corrected by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user. Then, a communication link to be assigned to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user is determined based on the maximum link capacity of each communication link, including the prioritized communication link. This prevents traffic congestion on the communication path for the bandwidth-guaranteed user, and ensures the throughput that should be guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user.

[0036] 3. Configuration of Node Station Next, we will explain the configuration of the node station for realizing the above-mentioned communication control by the wireless communication system 2. Each node station, including the low altitude node stations 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3 and the high altitude node station 7-1, is equipped with a node station-mounted communication device 50 having the configuration shown in Figure 4.

[0037] The node station-mounted communication device 50 comprises an inter-node station communication device 51, an inter-terminal station communication device 52, and an inter-terrestrial base station communication device 53. The inter-node station communication device 51 connects a communication link to communicate with nearby node stations. The inter-terminal station communication device 52 connects a communication link to communicate with terminal stations. The inter-terrestrial base station communication device 53 connects a communication link to communicate with terrestrial base stations.

[0038] The node station-mounted communication device 50 further includes a management device 54 and a route control device 55. The management device 54 aggregates information from the inter-node station communication device 51, inter-terminal station communication device 52, and inter-terrestrial base station communication device 53, manages information necessary for calculating cost values ​​of communication links, and notifies the network controller 10 of the aggregated information and the information it manages. The management device 54 also notifies the route control device 55 of information notified from the network controller 10. The route control device 55 controls the inter-node station communication device 51, inter-terminal station communication device 52, and inter-terrestrial base station communication device 53 in accordance with the information notified from the network controller 10, and controls link connections for establishing communication paths.

[0039] Each of the above-mentioned devices 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 included in the node station-equipped communication device 50 can be configured by a processing circuit including a general-purpose processor, an application-specific processor, an integrated circuit, an ASIC, an FPGA, a CPU, a conventional circuit, and / or a combination thereof. When the processing circuit includes a memory in which instructions and data are stored and a processor, the functions of each of the above-mentioned devices 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 can be realized by having the processor execute the instructions. The program can also be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network.

[0040] 4. Configuration of the Network Controller Next, the configuration of the network controller 10 for realizing the above-described communication control by the wireless communication system 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0041] The network controller 10 includes a management device 101, a route control device 102, and a communication link information database (DB) 103. The management device 101 aggregates information notified from each node station and the core network 14, and notifies the aggregated information to the route control device 102. The information notified from each node station includes information necessary for deriving a communication path. The information notified from the core network 14 includes user information for distinguishing between bandwidth-guaranteed users and non-bandwidth-guaranteed users. Specifically, if the core network 14 is a 5G core network, the user information can be obtained from UDM (Unified Data Management).

[0042] The route control device 102 determines a communication route from the information notified by the management device 101 and the information obtained from the communication link information DB 103. The method for determining a communication route is as described above. The route control device 102 notifies the management device 101 of the determined communication route. If the maximum link capacity of a communication link changes due to the allocation of link capacity to a bandwidth-guaranteed user or the release of allocated link capacity, the route control device 102 notifies the communication link information DB 103 of that information. The communication link information DB 103 manages information regarding the maximum link capacity of each of all communication links established between node stations and between node stations and terrestrial base stations.

[0043] Each of the above devices 101, 102, and 103 included in the network controller 10 can be configured by a processing circuit including a general-purpose processor, an application-specific processor, an integrated circuit, an ASIC, an FPGA, a CPU, a conventional circuit, and / or a combination thereof. When the processing circuit includes a memory in which instructions and data are stored and a processor, the functions of each of the above devices 101, 102, and 103 can be realized by having the processor execute the instructions. The program can be recorded on a recording medium or provided via a network.

[0044] 6. Operation of the Network Controller The flowcharts shown in Fig. 6 briefly summarize the operations of the network controller 10 configured as described above. The operations shown in these flowcharts correspond to the wireless communication method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, which is executed by the wireless communication system 2. In the following description, it is assumed that the wireless communication system 2 is configured as in the example shown in Fig. 3.

[0045] In step S11 of the flowchart of FIG. 6 , the network controller 10 calculates a communication path R1 for a terminal station based on the cost value calculated by equation (2) using information from the communication link information DB 103. Next, in step S12, the network controller 10 determines whether the communication path R1 is a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the user information. If the communication path R1 is a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user, the operation of the network controller 10 proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the network controller 10 subtracts the portion guaranteed for the communication path R1, i.e., the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user, from the maximum link capacity of each prioritized communication link included in the communication path R1. Then, in step S14, the network controller 10 updates the communication link information DB 103 based on the corrected maximum link capacity. On the other hand, if the communication path R1 is a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user rather than a bandwidth-guaranteed user, the network controller 10 does not update the communication link information DB 103.

[0046] As described above, the network controller 10 operates and updates the communication link information DB 103 to reflect the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user, thereby making it possible for the bandwidth-guaranteed user to ensure the throughput that should be guaranteed without being affected by the non-bandwidth-guaranteed user.

[0047] 2 Wireless communication system 3, 3-1, 3-2 Terrestrial base station 4, 4-1, 4-2 Terminal station 5A Low altitude node station 5B Medium altitude node station 5C High altitude node station 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 Low altitude node station 7-1 High altitude node station 10 Network controller 12 Aggregation device 14 Core network 15 Non-terrestrial network 15A Low altitude network 15B Medium altitude network 15C High altitude network 16 Low altitude network 17 High altitude network 50 Node station mounted communication device R1, R2-1, R2-2 Communication path L1, L2, L3, L4 Communication link

Claims

1. A wireless communication system that performs communication between a terminal station and a core network via a wireless network including a plurality of aerial node stations and a plurality of terrestrial base stations, comprising: a network controller that establishes a communication path by linking at least one of the plurality of aerial node stations with one of the plurality of terrestrial base stations, wherein the network controller is configured to perform the following operations: allocate one or more prioritized communication links selected from a plurality of communication links that constitute the wireless network to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user; correct the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links; and determine a communication link to be allocated to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

2. A wireless communication method for communicating between a terminal station and a core network via a wireless network including a plurality of aerial node stations and a plurality of terrestrial base stations, comprising: establishing a communication path by linking at least one of the plurality of aerial node stations with one of the plurality of terrestrial base stations; allocating one or more prioritized communication links selected from a plurality of communication links constituting the wireless network to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user; correcting the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links; and determining a communication link to be allocated to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

3. A network controller provided in a wireless communication system that performs communication between a terminal station and a core network via a wireless network including a plurality of aerial node stations and a plurality of terrestrial base stations, the network controller comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the following operations: establishing a communication path by linking at least one of the plurality of aerial node stations with one of the plurality of terrestrial base stations; allocating one or more prioritized communication links selected from a plurality of communication links that constitute the wireless network to a communication path for a bandwidth-guaranteed user; correcting the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links by subtracting the link capacity guaranteed to the bandwidth-guaranteed user from the maximum link capacity of each of the one or more prioritized communication links; and determining a communication link to be allocated to a communication path for a non-bandwidth-guaranteed user based on the maximum link capacity of each of the plurality of communication links.

4. A program comprising instructions for causing a processor to execute the processing performed by the network controller according to claim 3.

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