Patent ID: 8270900

Claim:
A method to assign communication channels between one or more mobile platforms and a ground station in a communication system which comprises at least one satellite-based transponder, the method comprising: generating a randomly ordered list of mobile platforms which do not have a return communication channel to the ground station; determining a number, n, of available communication channels at the ground station; assigning the mobile platforms into the corresponding number, n, of aggregate groups; wherein determining, for each aggregate group, a worst-case power spectral density (PSD) measure comprises: transmitting a poll message to the aggregate groups; receiving a response from the mobile platforms in the aggregate groups; determining a PSD measure for each mobile platform in the aggregate groups; selecting the highest PSD measure associated with a mobile platform in a given aggregate group as the worst case PSD measure for the aggregate group; and assigning a return communication channel to the plurality of mobile platforms in an aggregate group when the worst-case PSD measure is beneath a threshold.