Patent ID: 7242945

Claim:
A computer-implemented satellite network planning system comprising: a spreadsheet configured to contain embedded satellite network planning equations and receive data that is used as input for the embedded equations, said spreadsheet being an application that runs on an industry-standard operating system, said spreadsheet including a user interface configured to prompt a user to enter the data as predetermined satellite network parameters but not display the embedded equations; a processor configured to execute the embedded equations using the data input via the user interface and to determine a final satellite network design that includes at least one hub terminal, at least one satellite, and at least one remote terminal, a total number of upstream carriers, downstream carriers and an information rate for each upstream carrier and downstream carrier, performance characteristics of the final satellite network including a frame length of each upstream carrier and an oversubscription of each downstream carrier, and to determine the transmission rate and a bandwidth for the upstream and downstream carriers for the final satellite network design, the transmission rate including bits needed in a carrier and being calculated based on Quadrative Phase-Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation, and demand information, encryption information, and packet assembly and disassembly data being used to further analyze the upstream and the bandwidth available for each time slot, and a cost per month for using a satellite network according to the final satellite network design; and a display mechanism configured to display the final satellite network design with both text and graphics, said graphics including an image of a spectral occupancy of the downstream carriers.