Patent ID: 7706787

Claim:
A method for accommodating changes in capacity requirements in the service area of at least one satellite comprising: subdividing the service area into at least two interleaved sets of cells; assigning one of two orthogonal polarizations to each set of cells, such that adjacent cells from different sets alternate in polarization; providing for flexible allocation of satellite transmit power to one or more cells in at least a first set of cells; providing for flexible allocation of bandwidth and frequency to one or more cells in, at least, the first set of cells, and providing that no two adjacent cells within the sets of cells share a common frequency at any given time; and, reallocating satellite transmit power, bandwidth and frequency among the cells of at least the first set of cells, independently of the satellite transmit power, bandwidth and frequencies of the cells in other sets of cells, in response to changes in capacity requirements in the service area.