WORLDWIDE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM USING SATELLITES

摘要

A wireless telephone system (10) capable of servicing aroaming wireless telephone user (30) includes a satellite (22)communications system consisting of at least one orbitingsatellite (22); at least one terrestrial-based gateway (12, 14,16, 18) having access to a database (20) of users, destinationcodes (telephone numbers); at least one network coordinatinggateway (28) within at least one satellite service area (24); asingle network control center (25); and a plurality ofterrestrial communications links (e.g. 101). The system (10)operates by effecting communication between a terrestrialwireless telephone end user transceiver apparatus (e.g. 501) anda terrestrial communications link (e.g. 101) via a single relaythrough a single satellite (22) or a succession of single relaysatellites (22) wherein the relay station may be in motionrelative to the end user transceiver apparatus (501) and theterrestrial communications link (101). The ground-based gateway(28) effects the ultimate decision on linking in cooperationwith the network database to effect hand-off from a firstorbiting satellite (22) to a second orbiting satellite (22).The single satellite (22) or preferably a constellation ofsatellites (22) orbiting near the earth need only translatesignals from the gateways (12, 14, 16, 18) to the users (30) andfrom the users (30) to the gateways (12, 14, 16, 18), withoutsatellite-based control. The gateways (12, 14, 16, 18) arecapable of decoding the calls, switching, processing callrequests from the end users (30), processing call requests tothe end users (30), processing call set-ups, handing off ofcalls to other satellites (22), and updating databases (20) ofusers (30) based on information provided by network control (25)and requests from end users (30).