Patent ID: 7684425

Claim:
A method of implementing adaptive coding and modulation for a satellite communications network using a plurality of packet forwarding queues, the method comprising: assigning a different modcode to each of the plurality of packet forwarding queues, each queue associated with a select one of a plurality of signal quality ranges; placing each respective packet of a plurality of packets into a respective one of the packet forwarding queues, each respective queue associated with a signal quality range encompassing a signal quality of a corresponding link to which the respective packet is destined; transmitting, via the satellite communications network, a subset of the plurality of packets taken from the packet forwarding queues, the transmitting sequence according to a defined order of progression, wherein the defined order of progression comprises: transmitting each packet in a first selected packet forwarding queue associated with a first modcode; incrementing from the first selected queue to a second selected packet forwarding queue with a next higher order second modcode to transmit a set of packets from the second selected queue; and continuing to increment through each of a subset of the plurality of packet forwarding queues, each increment associated with transmitting from a next higher order modcode packet forwarding queue; and interrupting the defined order of progression through the plurality of packet forwarding queues assigned different modcodes upon expiration of a timer to transmit, via the satellite communications network, an out of order packet of the plurality of packets taken from the packet forwarding queues, the out of order packet exceeding a threshold age and not included in the subset.