A method of operating a satellite communications network, the method comprising: receiving from a satellite terminal a message; and storing the message contents in a satellite network database, the message indicating one or both of: (i) a list of communication satellites which are blocked to a satellite antenna or a portion of the field of view of the satellite antenna which is blocked, at a particular geographic location of the satellite antenna; and (ii) a list of communication satellites that are visible to the satellite antenna or a visible portion of the field of view of the satellite antenna, at a particular geographic location of the satellite antenna. A method of operating a satellite terminal having a satellite antenna. The method comprises controlling a beam of the satellite antenna to scan at least a portion of the field of view of the satellite antenna and locate at least one communication satellite or controlling a beam of the satellite antenna to perform a search to locate a communication satellite in the vicinity of a predicted location of the communication satellite, the predicted location being obtained from satellite ephemeris data. The method further comprises updating a satellite terminal database of communication satellites and their locations by recording the location of the located communication satellite in the satellite terminal database. The database and satellite ephemeris data may be used to determine a list of communication satellites which are blocked or a portion of the field of view of the satellite antenna which is blocked at the current location of the satellite antenna, or to determine a list of communication satellites that are visible to the satellite antenna or a visible portion of the field of view of the satellite antenna. The blocking information or visibility information may be transmitted to a satellite communication network and may be used to build a model of satellite communications network availability across a geographical area.

Disclosed is a method comprising obtaining information comprising a location of a terminal device, obtaining an angle of arrival (342) of a signal transmitted by the terminal device, determining an expected angle of arrival (344) based, at least partly, on the location of the terminal device, determining if the angle of arrival of the signal transmitted by the terminal device and the expected angle of arrival correspond to each other, and if they do not performing an action associated with an incorrect reported location.

This application provides a method for processing a round trip delay, a related apparatus, and a readable storage medium, and pertains to the field of communications technologies. The method includes: receiving a delay quantization parameter of a common round trip delay (RTD), where the delay quantization parameter includes a first quantization parameter, and the first quantization parameter is used to indicate a height-related delay; and obtaining the common RTD based on the delay quantization parameter. The height-related delay is indicated by using the first quantization parameter, so that the common RTD is obtained based on the first quantization parameter.

Example beam hopping methods and apparatus are described. In one example method, a first satellite sends a communication signal to a first area by using a first beam, where the communication signal is used by the first satellite to communicate with a terminal device in the first area, and the first area belongs to an area covered by the first satellite. The first satellite sends a positioning signal to a second area by using a second beam, where the positioning signal is used by a terminal device in the second area for positioning measurement.

Apparatuses, methods, and systems for a satellite wireless communication system are disclosed. One system includes a base station, a satellite, a beam management controller, and a plurality of wireless devices. The base station is configured to wirelessly communicate according to a schedule between the base station and each of the plurality of wireless devices within a scheduling frame. The satellite is operative to form a plurality of beams between the satellite and the wireless devices and support a wireless satellite link between the base station and the wireless devices through the plurality of beams. The beam management controller is operative to assign beam allocations for the scheduled wireless communication between each of the wireless devices and the base station that is time aligned with the scheduling frame, wherein each of the beam allocations includes an assignment to at least one of the plurality of beams.

A satellite signal method includes: receiving a satellite signal at an apparatus; transmitting, from the apparatus, one or more outbound signals; and inhibiting processing, by the apparatus, of at least a first portion of the satellite signal spanning a first frequency set that includes at least a portion of an interference signal corresponding to transmission of the one or more outbound signals.

Access, mobility management and regulatory services are supported for satellite access to a Fifth Generation (5G) core network (5GCN). Signaling including data and voice for radio cells supported by a satellite is transported between UEs and a core network via an earth station. When the satellite is transferred to a new earth station, the signaling can be transferred to the new earth station and possibly to a new base station. The UEs may remain with their current radio cells with a regenerative satellite or be assisted to remain with their current radio cells with a transparent satellite. The signaling transfer between the earth stations may occur at a Level 1 or Level 2. A modified handover procedure may be used with a regenerative satellite with split architecture when there is a change of base station.

A method and apparatus are provided, in which a service link path delay relative to a first leg of a communication path of a communication between the user equipment and a network entity via a relay entity is estimated (602), where the first leg corresponds to a portion of the communication path between the user equipment and the relay entity. A feeder link path delay relative to a second leg of the communication path is determined (604), where the second leg corresponds to a portion of the communication path between the relay entity and the network entity, based upon at least a received signaling indication. A timing advance value is calculated (606), based upon the service link path delay and the feeder link path delay. An uplink transmission timing of the user equipment is adjusted (608), based upon the calculated timing advance value.

The invention provides a method and an architecture for deploying non-terrestrial cellular network base stations, so as to enable cellular network coverage in remote areas, where no fixed infrastructure is available. The proposed methods allow for efficient power management at the terminal devices that need to synchronize to the airborne or spaceborne cellular base stations. This is particularly important for IoT devices, which have inherently limited power are computing resources.

The invention provides a method and an architecture for deploying non-terrestrial cellular network base stations, so as to enable cellular network coverage in remote areas, where no fixed infrastructure is available. The proposed methods allow for efficient power management at the terminal devices that need to synchronize to the airborne or spaceborne cellular base stations. This is particularly important for IoT devices, which have inherently limited power are computing resources.