Telecommunication network

• US 8,023,887 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eutelsat, SA (Eutelsat Communications SA)
• Original Assignee: Eutelsat, SA (Eutelsat Communications SA)
• Inventors: Lance, Emmanuel, Fenech, Hector
• Primary Examiner(s): Wendell; Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran; Paul P
• Application Number:
  US12/215,052
• Publication Number:
  US 20090270088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.02, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/13.2, 455/13.3, 455/427, 455/428, 455/429, 455/435.1, 342/352, 342/354, 342/356, 342/357.2, 342/357.42, 342/357.64, 370/235, 370/307, 370/310, 370/316, 370/319, 370/321, 370/323, 370/516, 725/63, 725/64, 343/753, 343/766
• US Class Current: 455/12.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18515 Transmission equipment in satellites or space-based relays

Abstract

The present invention concerns a telecommunication network for establishing radiofrequency links between at least one gateway and ground terminals via a multispot telecommunication satellite. The network includes a service zone composed of a plurality of cells each including a plurality of ground terminals, the said service zone being split into N sub-zones, N being an integer strictly greater than 1, each sub-zone having a capacity profile evolving in time over a given period and presenting a maximum value, the said maximum values of each of the capacities being shifted with regard to time and a multispot satellite including a transponder including amplification of the signals emitted by the gateway on the forward link and the signals emitted by the cells on the return link and a continuous power supply system of the amplifier. The said supply system includes means for supplying the amplifier providing the whole of the sub-zones with their respective capacity profile evolving over the said given period, the maximum continuous power delivered by the supply system being less than the continuous power which the amplifier would consume to provide simultaneously the whole of the sub-zones with their maximum capacity value.

Claims

1. A method for dimensioning the supply system belonging to a telecommunication network for establishing radiofrequency links between at least one gateway and ground terminals via a telecommunication satellite having several spot beams, designated as a multispot satellite, the telecommunication network including a service zone including a plurality of cells each including a plurality of ground terminals, the service zone being split into N sub-zones, N being an integer strictly greater than 1, each sub-zone having a capacity profile evolving in time over a given period and presenting a maximum value, the maximum values of each of the capacities being shifted with regard to time, and a multispot satellite including:

a transponder including an amplification device for amplifying signals emitted by the gateway on a forward link and signals emitted by the cells on a return link, and a continuous power supply system of the amplification device, the supply system including means for supplying the amplification device providing the whole of the sub-zones with their respective capacity profile evolving over the given period, the maximum continuous power delivered by the supply system being lower than the continuous power which the amplification device would consume to provide simultaneously the whole of the sub-zones with their maximum capacity value, the N capacity profiles being defined by a curve C_i(t) with i varying from 1 to N and t evolving on the given period, the method comprising the following steps;

summing the N profiles C_i(t) to obtain a global capacity

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein each of the N sub-zones corresponds to a time zone, the given period being a period of 24 hours.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein each of the N sub-zones has a capacity profile adapted to the lifestyle of the population using the ground terminals of the said sub-zone.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the amplification device includes a plurality of travelling wave tube amplifiers, each of the said amplifiers functioning at saturation when required to provide a maximum capacity.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein the amplification device includes a plurality of travelling wave tube amplifiers, each of the said amplifiers functioning in back-off mode with respect to its saturation mode when required to provide a maximum capacity.

6. The method according to claim 2 wherein the amplification device includes a plurality of travelling wave tube amplifiers with constant efficiency.

7. The method according to claim 2 wherein the forward and return links are radiofrequency links and are established between a plurality of gateways and the service zone so that the cells served by the same gateway are distributed on the N sub-zones.

8. A multispot satellite comprising a supply system dimensioned by the method according to claim 1.