Patent ID: 9615293
Date: 2017-04-04
CPC Classifications: H04B,H04W

Claim:
1. A process for managing satellite bandwidth available to a moveable vessel utilizing a satellite communication channel, the process comprising: configuring a satellite providing the satellite communication channel to associate the vessel with a group of multiple vessels; configuring the satellite to guarantee a committed information rate bandwidth to the vessel (vessel CIR bandwidth); configuring the satellite to associate a maximum information rate with the vessel (vessel MIR bandwidth); configuring the satellite to combine the vessel CIR bandwidth into a CIR bandwidth pool for a group of vessels comprising the vessel, the CIR bandwidth pool comprising a combined CIR bandwidth; configuring the satellite to combine the vessel MIR bandwidth into a MIR bandwidth pool for the group of vessels, the MIR bandwidth pool comprising a combined MIR bandwidth; configuring the satellite to provide the vessel with a priority burst rate up to the combined CIR bandwidth; configuring the satellite to provide the vessel with a burst rate up to the combined MIR bandwidth, conditional on availability of the satellite bandwidth beyond the combined CIR bandwidth; re-configuring the satellite to release the guarantee of CIR bandwidth for the vessel upon the vessel gaining access to a terrestrial network connection of higher speed than a satellite connection; and to configure a new lower but nonzero guarantee of CIR for the vessel; and operating a directed wireless data connection between the vessel and another vessel, and treating the vessel and the another vessel as a single vessel for purposes of allocating the vessel CIR bandwidth and the vessel MIR bandwidth from the CIR bandwidth pool and the MIR bandwidth pool, respectively.