A first node and a second node transmit packets to a third node via a switch. The packets are buffered in a Tx buffer in the switch and then transmitted to the third node.

When the third node detects a sign of congestion at the Tx buffer based on the reception frequency of the packets, it is recognized, from transmitter addresses included in the received packets, that the nodes transmitting the packets to the third node are the first node and the second node, and a control packet for a transmission stop request is transmitted to the first node and the second node. On receiving the control packet for a transmission stop request, the first node stops transmission of only packets addressed to the third node. On receiving the control packet for a transmission stop request, the second node stops transmission of only packets addressed to the third node.

Systems and methods are described for robust scheduling of beam switching patterns in satellite communications systems. Embodiments operate in context of a hub-spoke satellite communications architecture having a number of gateway terminals servicing large numbers of user terminals over a number of spot beams. The satellite includes switching subsystems that distribute capacity to the user beams from multiple of the gateway terminals in a shared manner according to a beam group switching pattern. The beam group switching pattern is robustly formulated to continue distributing capacity during gateway outages (e.g., when one or two gateway terminals are temporarily non-operational due to rain fade, equipment failure, etc.). For example, the beam group switching pattern can be formulated to minimize worst-case degradation of capacity across user beams, to prioritize certain beams or beam groups, etc.

A dynamic satellite load balancing system measures geographic position and travel information of in-flight aircraft in a fleet of aircraft equipped to establish in-flight connectivity services from a plurality of satellite beams. The in-flight aircraft include an on-board satellite map program with satellite map parameters to indicate which satellite beam of a group of available satellite beams is the most desirable based on the in-flight aircraft's geographic location. The system selects in-flight aircraft, determines load balanced satellite map parameters for the selected aircraft, and transmits the load balanced satellite map parameters to the aircraft to assemble load balanced satellite map programs to relieve wireless data communication saturation conditions on one or more of the satellite beams. The dynamic satellite load balancing system may transmit the load balanced satellite map parameters over an existing satellite data connection to make up-to-date adjustments to the communications load among the group of available satellite beams.

Provided is a communication system including a control station and a satellite repeater capable of forming two or more beams. The control station includes a control unit that classifies the two or more beams into clusters each made up of two or more beams among the two or more beams and allocates different frequencies to the beams belonging to one of the clusters. The satellite repeater includes a channelizer that performs exchanging processing on an input reception signal and outputs the reception signal having undergone the exchanging processing, as a transmission signal. A signal used in the exchanging processing includes a signal obtained by combining signals corresponding to the beams defining the one cluster.

The described features generally relate to adjusting a native antenna pattern of a satellite to adapt communications via the satellite. For example, a communications satellite may include an antenna having a feed array assembly, a reflector, and a linear actuator coupled between the feed array assembly and the reflector. The feed array assembly may have a plurality of feeds for communicating signals associated with a communications service, and the reflector may be configured to reflect the signals transmitted between the feed array assembly and one or more target devices. The linear actuator may have an adjustable length, or otherwise provide an adjustable position between the feed array assembly and the reflector. By adjusting the position of the feed array assembly relative to the reflector, the communications satellite may provide a communications service according to a plurality of native antenna patterns.

A system of architecture, apparatus and calibration method is invented for high-power flexible-polarization payload for satellite communications. The system comprises onboard phase-tracked apparatus, flexible polarization mechanism, and in-orbit calibration method. The power combining and polarization performance of the phase-tracked payload is monitored on ground by measuring the cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) and/or axial ratio (AR). The high performance over the life is achieved by optimization of the XPD or AR on ground and adjusting complex gain of the transponders. The high-power flexible-polarization in-orbit-calibration payload may be applied but not limited to UHF, L, S, C, X, Ku and Ka-band high power satellite systems.

A method for communication includes detecting, at a first station in a wireless network, a beacon transmitted over the wireless network by a second station having multiple antennas. In response to the beacon, a request-to-send (RTS) frame is transmitted over the wireless network using a multi-carrier modulation scheme from the first station to the second station. The first station receives a clear-to-send (CTS) frame transmitted over the wireless network, in response to the RTS frame, by the second station via the multiple antennas using the multi-carrier modulation scheme, and estimates an angle of transmission from the second station to the first station based on the received CTS frame.

Embodiments provide high-throughput, hub-and-spoke satellite communications with geographically non-overlapping user beams and full frequency reuse. For example, a coverage area of a satellite is segmented into multiple candidate coverage zones, and an associated consumption demand is determined for each candidate coverage zone. Fixed spot beams are assigned to a subset of the candidate coverage zones according to highest associated consumption demands, such that each fixed spot beam corresponds to at least one candidate coverage zone to service an associated beam coverage area that is geographically non-overlapping with beam coverage areas of all other fixed spot beams, and each fixed spot beam is allocated full use of a same spectrum. One or more steerable beams selectively cover lower consumption demand zones.

An approach is provided that hides a caller's telephone number and instead displays a user friendly string that acts as an alias for the caller's identity. The approach receives, from a caller using a calling device, an incoming call at a receiving device that is the information handling system such as a smart phone. The incoming call includes a set of textual metadata that includes an alias corresponding to caller as well as the caller's telephone number that corresponds to the calling device. The approach then displays, on a display screen accessible from the receiving device, the alias while inhibiting display of the caller telephone number, thus keeping the caller's actual telephone number hidden from the user of the receiving device.

A communication apparatus and a wireless communication system are provided to perform information transmission between a first communication device group and a second communication device group via wireless communication performed by means of radio waves of mutually different frequencies without being limited by frequency allocation. The communication apparatus includes a first voice input means for inputting a voice emitted from a first communication device that is one constituent element of the first communication device group into a second communication device that is one constituent element of the second communication device group and a second voice input means for inputting another voice emitted from the second communication device that is one constituent element of the second communication device group into the first communication device that is one constituent element of the first communication device group.