Forward Link Power Control

• US 20180167135A1
• Filed: 12/13/2017
• Published: 06/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inmarsat Global Limited (Inmarsat PLC)
• Original Assignee: Inmarsat Global Limited (Inmarsat PLC)
• Inventors: BHAVE, Paven, SHARKEY, Patrick, BATH, David, LOCKE, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 10,587,333 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18513 Transmission in a satellite or space-based system
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18519 Operations control, administration or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18543 for adaptation of transmission parameters, e.g. power control for detecting or preventing errors in the information received H04L1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0015 characterised by the adaptation strategy
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/18 TPC being performed according to specific parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/346 distributing total power among users or channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/42 in systems with time, space, frequency or polarisation diversity

Abstract

A method of forward link power control in a communications system comprises: grouping a plurality of user terminals into a plurality of groups, at least one of which comprises more than one of the user terminals; for each said group, determining a corresponding forward link power level required to satisfy an aggregate demand of the group; and assigning one or more forward link carriers to the group, with the corresponding power level.

Claims

1. A method of forward link power control in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

a. grouping a plurality of user terminals into a plurality of groups, at least one of which comprises more than one of the user terminals;

b. for each said group, determining a corresponding forward link power level required to satisfy an aggregate demand of the group, and assigning one or more forward link carriers to the group, with the corresponding power level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user terminals are grouped by forward link demand.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the demand is determined from forward data queue length.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the demand is determined from demand requirements received from the user terminals.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of the groups comprises a single said user terminal having a higher demand than other ones of the user terminals.

6. The method claim 1, wherein the users are grouped by geographic location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication system is a satellite communications system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user terminals are arranged in a plurality of beams in which the carriers may be re-used subject to a minimum re-use distance.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of groups is limited to a predetermined maximum.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the forward link power levels are constrained by a maximum aggregate power level.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the power level comprises an EIRP.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the carriers comprise frequency channels.

13. The method of claim 1, including assigning a corresponding coding and/or modulation rate to each of the forward link carriers.

14. The method of claim 1, including transmitting to the user terminals using the forward link carriers with the corresponding power levels.

15. A wireless communication system comprising:

a plurality of user terminals; and

a transmitter arranged to transmit wireless signals to the plurality of user terminals over a forward link;

wherein the plurality of user terminals are grouped into a plurality of groups, at least one of which comprises more than one of the user terminals;

for each said group, a corresponding forward link power level required to satisfy an aggregate demand of the group is determined, and one or more forward link carriers are assigned to the group, with the corresponding power level.

16. A non-transient computer readable medium containing program instructions for causing a computer to:

a. group a plurality of wireless user terminals into a plurality of groups, at least one of which comprises more than one of the user terminals;

b. for each said group, determine a corresponding forward link power level required to satisfy an aggregate demand of the group, and

c. assign one or more forward link carriers to the group, with the corresponding power level.