Satellite Network Addressing via Sub-Area Identifiers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing terrestrial mobile communications network faces challenges in providing wide coverage, especially in remote areas, oceans, and the air, due to limited coverage capability and high costs, and struggles with user mobility and security issues caused by semantic overload of IP addresses, which are not suitable for satellite networks with high-speed movement and dynamic topology.
Innovation Solution
A satellite network communication method that uses sub-area identifiers (EIDs) to determine user device and satellite addresses, allowing for efficient addressing and bidirectional communication, even with high-speed mobility, by dividing the earth surface into sub-areas and calculating EIDs in real time, reducing memory usage and calculation delays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If IP technology is used for addressing in satellite networks, then network node identification is achieved, but user mobility support deteriorates due to semantic overload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the addressing function by introducing a separate location identifier (LID) component distinct from the network node identifier. The address structure is divided into network identifier, location identifier, and node identifier parts, allowing independent handling of identification and positioning functions. This segmentation resolves the semantic overload problem by separating what IP addresses conflate, thereby improving both addressing precision and mobility support.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a location identifier (LID) as an intermediary element between the network node and its physical location. This LID acts as a mediator that decouples the relationship between node identification and position information. By using this intermediary, the system can track user mobility through LID changes without affecting the core network identification mechanism, thus resolving the contradiction between precise addressing and mobility support.
2Adaptability or versatility
If tunnel mechanism is used to resolve mobility problems, then user mobility is supported, but control plane overheads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the location tracking function from the complex tunnel mechanism by introducing a simplified location identifier (LID) system. Instead of using elaborate tunneling protocols to handle mobility, the system extracts position information into a separate, lightweight LID component that can be easily updated and transmitted. This extraction reduces control plane overhead while maintaining mobility support capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation for location by using compact location identifiers instead of full IP address-based location tracking. This parameter change from detailed IP addresses to condensed LIDs reduces the amount of data that needs to be processed and transmitted in the control plane, thereby reducing overhead while preserving mobility functionality.
3Area of stationary object
If base-station-based coverage mode is used, then service coverage is provided, but cost and feasibility deteriorate in remote areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables satellites to provide universal communication services across diverse terrains including remote areas, oceans, and mountains where base station deployment is impractical. By making the satellite system multi-functional to serve both conventional and remote areas, it eliminates the need for expensive base station infrastructure in difficult-to-reach locations while maintaining broad coverage capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent effectively copies the terrestrial mobile network addressing and mobility management functionality to the satellite domain by adapting IP-based protocols for satellite communication. This copying allows satellite systems to provide base-station-like service coverage without physically deploying base stations in remote areas, thereby reducing deployment costs while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
4Productivity
If IP-based routing technology is used, then network transmission is achieved, but adaptability to satellite network features deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamic address allocation and routing mechanisms that adapt to satellite network characteristics such as high-speed movement and changing topology. The location identifier (LID) is dynamically updated as satellites and user equipment move, allowing the routing system to automatically adapt to changing network conditions without requiring fundamental changes to IP-based transmission, thus maintaining efficiency while improving adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples in this application disclose satellite network communication methods, communications apparatuses, and communications systems. One example method includes determining, by a user device, address information of the user device, where the address information includes a second sub-area identifier and a user device identifier (UDID) of the user device, and the second EID indicates a second sub-area which the user device is currently located in, and the second sub-area is one of a plurality of sub-areas divided from earth surface, and sending, by the user device, the address information to a first satellite.