SATELLITE HANDOVER MANAGEMENT IN A BROADBAND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

A mobile station provided in a satellite communication network comprised of multiple orbiting satellites, wherein the mobile station includes a transceiver that is capable of communication with each of the multiple orbiting satellites, the communication comprising an uplink communication channel and a downlink communication channel, a memory storing data and executable program instructions, and a processor coupled to the transceiver and to the memory, the processor configured to execute the executable program instructions to manage satellite communication handover by performing the steps of maintaining a current communication link between the mobile station and a first orbiting satellite of the multiple orbiting satellites if a signal quality of the current communication link is greater than a first signal quality threshold, identifying at least a second orbiting satellite and a third orbiting satellite of the multiple orbiting satellites as handover candidates based on a relative position of the mobile station to the multiple orbiting satellites, wherein a relative distance of the mobile station to the second orbiting satellite is less than a relative distance of the mobile station to the third orbiting satellite, handing over communication of the mobile station to the third orbiting satellite if the signal quality of the current communication link is not greater than the first signal quality threshold and if a projected signal quality of a communication link between the mobile station and the third orbiting satellite is greater than a second signal quality threshold, and handing over communication of the mobile station to the second orbiting satellite if the signal quality of the current communication link is not greater than the first signal quality threshold and if the projected signal quality of a communication link between the mobile station and the third orbiting satellite is not greater than a second signal quality threshold and if a projected signal quality of a communication link between the mobile station and the second orbiting satellite is greater than a third signal quality threshold. La présente invention concerne une station mobile dans un réseau de communication par satellites constitué de multiples satellites en orbite. La station mobile comprend : un émetteur-récepteur capable d'une communication avec chacun des multiples satellites en orbite, la communication comportant un canal de communication en liaison montante et un canal de commun