Patent ID: 7907893

Claim:
A method of establishing communications between a terminal and a hybrid communications system comprising a space based system and a ground based system; the space based and ground based systems providing wireless communications using respective first and second sets of frequencies of at least one satellite frequency band while being configured to function substantially autonomously therebetween; the method comprising: transmitting a signal by a terminal to the hybrid communications system; determining by the hybrid communications system based on at least the transmitted signal an identity of the terminal; assigning to the terminal a communications channel responsive to the identity of the terminal; and establishing communications between the terminal and the hybrid communications system over the communications channel that was assigned; wherein the assigning to the terminal a communications channel responsive to the identity of the terminal comprises preferentially assigning to the terminal a communications channel that is associated with the ground based system responsive to the identity of the terminal, notwithstanding that the terminal is configured to communicate with both the space based system and the ground based system; and wherein the establishing communications between the terminal and the hybrid communications system over the communications channel that was assigned comprises preferentially establishing communications between the terminal and the ground based system responsive to the identity of the terminal, notwithstanding that the terminal is configured to communicate with both the space based system and the ground based system.