Channel assignment in mobile satellite networks

The next generation of mobile satellite networks, aimed at the personal hand held terminal market, is evolving away from geostationary orbits to lower orbits in which satellites move relative to the Earth´s surface. To cope with this motion, terrestrial cellular radio concepts of handover and cellular channel assignment will be introduced. This paper reports on an investigation made into the application to satellite systems of dynamic channel assignment techniques, as opposed to fixed frequency reuse planning, which reveals potential to more than double system capacity of FD/TDMA systems