Terrestrial beamforming communication using mutually synchronized spatial multiplexing feeder links

摘要

The embodiment provides terrestrial beamforming through mutually synchronized spatial multiplexed gateways in a wireless communication system. Some embodiments are of a satellite having a focused-beam feeder antenna that communicates with a number of geographically distributed gateway terminals (e.g., a single gateway per beam), and a user antenna that provides communication with a user terminal via a formed user beam. Works in the environment. The gateway terminal may communicate a feeder signal that is beam-weighted and phase synchronized with each other (eg, according to a satellite and/or loopback beacon). For example, synchronization allows forward uplink signals to be phase synchronously received by a satellite, and beam weighting allows forward downlink signals to be spatially combined to form a forward user beam. Embodiments can achieve wide bandwidth reuse through mutually synchronized spatial multiplexing of feeder link communications.