Patent ID: 7599656

Claim:
A satellite radiotelephone system comprising: a space-based component that is configured to provide wireless radiotelephone communications in a satellite footprint over a satellite radiotelephone frequency band, the satellite footprint being divided into a plurality of satellite cells in which satellite radiotelephone frequencies of the satellite radiotelephone frequency band are spatially reused; and an ancillary terrestrial network that is configured to refrain from terrestrially reusing at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies that is used in a plurality of spaced apart satellite cells in the satellite footprint, within the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells and in respective spatial guardbands that are immediately outside and surround the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells, wherein the ancillary terrestrial network comprises a plurality of ancillary terrestrial components, at least a first one of which is located in the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells or in the respective spatial guardbands and is configured to refrain from terrestrially reusing the at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies that is used by the space-based component in the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells for satellite communications, and at least a second one of which is located outside the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells and outside the respective spatial guardbands and is configured to terrestrially reuse the at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies that is used by the space-based component in the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells for satellite communications, the spatial guardbands being sufficiently large so as to attenuate the at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies that is used by the space-based component in the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells to a desired degree by an antenna pattern of the space-based component, so as to allow the at least a second one of the ancillary terrestrial components that is located outside the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells and outside the respective spatial guardbands to reuse the at least one of the satellite radiotelephone frequencies that is used by the space-based component in the plurality of spaced apart satellite cells.