Aircraft based cellular system
First Claim
1. A system for providing an aircraft-based wireless communications service, comprising:
- a plurality of aircraft each including on-board equipment for supporting wireless communications with one or more dual mode handsets and for exchanging wireless communication traffic and control information;
one or more ground stations communicating with the plurality of commercial aircraft using feeder communications links exchanging the wireless communication traffic and control information and providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure; and
a control center that manages the one or more ground stations and the on-board equipment of the commercial aircraft and dynamically assigns resources to the on-board equipment of the plurality of aircraft using an overlapped set of coverage patterns.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for providing an aircraft-based wireless communications service is disclosed. An exemplary system includes a plurality of aircraft each including on-board equipment for supporting wireless communications with one or more dual mode handsets and for exchanging wireless communication traffic and control information. One or more ground stations communicate with the plurality of commercial aircraft using feeder communications links exchanging the wireless communication traffic and control information and providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure. A control center manages the one or more ground stations and the on-board equipment of the commercial aircraft and dynamically assigns resources to the on-board equipment of the plurality of aircraft using an overlapped set of coverage patterns.
123 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A system for providing an aircraft-based wireless communications service, comprising:
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a plurality of aircraft each including on-board equipment for supporting wireless communications with one or more dual mode handsets and for exchanging wireless communication traffic and control information;
one or more ground stations communicating with the plurality of commercial aircraft using feeder communications links exchanging the wireless communication traffic and control information and providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure; and
a control center that manages the one or more ground stations and the on-board equipment of the commercial aircraft and dynamically assigns resources to the on-board equipment of the plurality of aircraft using an overlapped set of coverage patterns. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for providing an aircraft-based wireless communications service, comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of aircraft each including on-board equipment for supporting wireless communications with one or more dual mode handsets and for exchanging wireless communication traffic and control information;
providing one or more ground stations communicating with the plurality of commercial aircraft using feeder communications links exchanging the wireless communication traffic and control information and providing interfaces with a terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure; and
providing a control center that manages the one or more ground stations and the on-board equipment of the commercial aircraft and dynamically assigns resources to the on-board equipment of the plurality of aircraft using an overlapped set of coverage patterns. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification