Patent ID: 8325664

Claim:
A method for allocating bandwidth resources in a satellite communications system having a plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals being in communication with a satellite over a communication channel defined according to a channel bandwidth, the bandwidth resources defined in resource units, the method comprising: identifying channel resources for a defined time duration for the communication channel, the channel resources comprising a number of time slots of the channel bandwidth; identifying a plurality of carrier groups including a first carrier group associated with a first carrier bandwidth less than the channel bandwidth and a second carrier group associated with a second carrier bandwidth different from the first carrier bandwidth; identifying a set of terminals from among the plurality of terminals, the set of terminals being associated with the first carrier group; identifying a first carrier group allocation comprising a number of allocated time slots of the first carrier bandwidth for the defined time duration; identifying a traffic class allocation associated with the first carrier group allocation based at least in part on one or more committed information rates associated with the set of terminals, the traffic class allocation designating an allocation of resource units of the first carrier group allocation among a plurality of traffic classes for the first carrier group; for the defined time duration, assigning the allocated time slots of the first carrier group allocation to each terminal of the set of terminals according to an amount of resource units requested by respective terminals of the set of terminals for the defined time duration and as a function of the traffic class allocation associated with the first carrier group allocation; and transmitting information directed to at least one terminal of the set of terminals identifying the time slots assigned to the at least one terminal.