Patent ID: 7215650

Claim:
In a narrowcast satellite communication network having a hub station transmitting to a satellite repeater and a plurality of receiving subscriber terminals, a method comprising: transmitting data from said hub station addressed to selected ones of said receiving subscriber terminals to said satellite repeater on a selection of channels; receiving and relaying at said satellite repeater, said data on said selection of channels to a selected subset of said receiving subscriber terminals using less than all available signal carriers; at each receiving subscriber terminal, determining signal quality metrics on the basis of qualities of said signal carriers received from said satellite repeater and addressed to said receiving subscriber terminal; communicating said signal quality metrics determined at said receiving subscriber terminals to said hub station; at said hub station, grouping pluralities of said receiving subscriber terminals into subgroups according to said signal quality metrics; varying at least one of a frequency bandwidth, a power level, a coding scheme, a modulation scheme and a data rate to produce a plurality of redefined carriers, and signaling said subgroups to use at least one of said redefined carriers for subsequent reception of said data; and narrowcasting from said hub station said subsequent data to said subgroups of receiving subscriber terminal using said at least one of said redefined carriers via said satellite repeater.