Importance

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Abstract

A satellite system comprising at least one satellite (4) at least one Earth station (6), and a plurality of user terminals (2), the satellite (4) being arranged to provide a link between each user terminal (2) and the Earth station (6), via communications channels, each channel comprising one or more timeslots in a repeating time frame on one or more frequencies, carried by a feeder link beam between said satellite (4) and the or each said Earth station (6), and one of a plurality of user terminal link beams (B1-BN) between the satellite (4) and the user terminals (2), the satellite comprising a multiplexer (211) for multiplexing the channels from multiple said terminal link beams onto each said feeder link beam, and a demultiplexer (111) for demultiplexing the channels from onto each said feeder link beam onto multiple said terminal link beams, and further comprising at least one router (112, 212) for assigning channels to and from particular said terminal link beams in response to control signals from said Earth station (6), characterized in that the Earth station (6) is arranged to send, during a first said frame period, channel assignment signals relating to channel assignments in a following said frame period, and in that the satellite (4) is arranged to control the router (112, 212) in accordance with said channel assignment signals in said following frame period.

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First Claim