Patent ID: 8576859

Claim:
A method for clustering packets for transmission, the method comprising: receiving a scheduled stream of packets for transmission to terminals of a satellite communication system, the scheduled stream of packets prioritized in an order for fetching according to a queuing scheme; identifying a first cycle period corresponding to a predetermined time period for transmission of a group of packets in frames; fetching a first group of packets from the received scheduled stream of packets according to the prioritized order, the first group fetched according to an estimated number of packets that can be transmitted within the cycle period; associating, after fetching the first group of packets, a modulation and coding format with each of the packets of the first fetched group, each modulation and coding format adapted to the link quality of a destination terminal; clustering the first fetched group of packets according to the associated modulation and coding formats sequentially from lower order modulation and coding format to higher order modulation and coding format; selecting, in the sequential order, packets from the clustered group of packets for encapsulation in payloads of a first plurality of frames, each frame of the first plurality of frames associated with a modulation and coding format; transmitting the first plurality of frames in an order corresponding to the sequential order, the payload for each transmitted frame transmitted according to the modulation and coding format associated with the frame; and fetching a second group of packets from the received stream for a next cycle period.