Approaches for high speed global packet data services for LEO/MEO satellite systems

US10177837B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Hughes Network Systems, LLC · US

Inventors

• Channasandra Ravishankar · Clarksburg, US
• John Corrigan · Bethesda, US
• Rajeev Gopal · North Potomac, US
• Yash Vasavada · Gaithersburg, US
• James Jehong Jong · North Potomac, US
• Nassir Benammar · Germantown, US
• Gaguk Zakaria · Germantown, US
• Anthony Noerpel · Lovettsville, US
• Harish Ramchandran · Germantown, US
• Xiaoling HUANG · Boyds, US
• Deepak Arur · Vienna, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 17, 2016
• Grant date: Jan 8, 2019
• Expiry date: Jun 17, 2036

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04W84/06
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A satellite system comprises LEO satellites and MEO satellites, and a control plane protocol architecture. The PHY, MAC, MAC/RLC and RRC layers are optimized for satellite environment. When the satellites are not processing satellites, eNB functions are implemented in a satellite gateway, and, when the satellites are processing satellites, protocol architecture in the control plane differ from LTE, as follows: PHY layer is moved to the communicating LEO/MEO satellite on the user link, MAC/RLC, RRC and PDCP are be located in satellite or gateway depending on satellite complexity, and the need to have mesh connectivity between UTs. When the RRC is implemented in the satellite, the RRC is divided into RRC-Lower and RRC-Upper layers. The RRC-L is satellite-based, and handles UT handover. The RRC-U is eNB-based, and handles resource management functions. The RRC-U communicates with the PDCP layer in the eNB to configure security, header and data compression.