Patent ID: 7639981

Claim:
A communications method comprising: receiving first information at a base station from a satellite via a satellite wireless link between the base station and the satellite; communicating the first information wirelessly from the base station to a terminal via a base station wireless link; providing a base station link power control loop that controls transmitted signal power for the base station wireless link between the base station and the terminal using a first output of a first demodulator, which is at the base station and converts second information that is received at the base station from the terminal to a format suitable for remodulation and transmission to the satellite, to control an output level of a first power amplifier, which is at the base station and amplifies the remodulated first information for transmission to the terminal, and using a second output of the first demodulator to transmit first power control information with the remodulated first information to the terminal; and providing a satellite link power control loop that controls transmitted signal power for the satellite wireless link between the base station and the satellite using a first output of a second demodulator, which is at the base station and converts the first information received from the satellite to a format suitable for remodulation and transmission to the terminal, to control an output level of a second power amplifier, which is at the base station and amplifies remodulated second information for transmission to the satellite, and using a second output of the second demodulator to generate second power control information that is transmitted with the remodulated second information to the satellite.