SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SATELLITE AUGMENTED WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
A system and method for a satellite augmented wireless communication network is disclosed. The method includes transmitting at least a portion of digital data via a satellite communication network to a satellite signal receiving device, receiving the digital data by the satellite signal receiving device, and providing the received digital data to a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device is operable in a wireless communication network and is communicatively coupled to the satellite receiving device. The system includes a wireless communication device operative in a wireless communication network comprising a plurality of terrestrial receivers and terrestrial transmitters, each serving a designated service region, and a satellite signal receiving device operative in a satellite communication network comprising a plurality of satellite and satellite transponders, wherein the satellite receiver is communicatively coupled with the wireless communication device.
1 . A method of receiving digital data at a wireless enabled device, comprising:
receiving, at the wireless device, a first portion of the digital data from a satellite included within a satellite communication network;
storing, at the wireless device, at least part of said first portion of said digital data; and
receiving, at the wireless device, a second portion of the digital data from a terrestrial wireless network.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising generating and sending, from the wireless device, a request for satellite data transmission via the terrestrial wireless network.
3 . The method of claim 2 wherein the request for satellite data transmission is generated automatically by the wireless device.
4 . The method of claim 2 wherein the request for satellite data transmission is generated in response to a user input.
5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the terrestrial wireless network is a cellular network.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the terrestrial wireless network is a local area network (LAN).
7 . The method of claim 6 wherein the LAN is an 802.11 based LAN.
8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
selecting, at the wireless device, a portion of the other digital data for storage; and
storing, at the wireless device, said portion of the digital data.
9 . The method of claim 8 wherein said portion of the digital data is selected based at least in part on a user supplied selection criteria.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein said selected digital data from said first portion is selected based at least in part on a user supplied selection criteria.
11 . A method of providing digital data to a wireless device, comprising:
receiving, at a control unit, a request for transmission of digital data to the wireless device;
allocating, at the control unit, a first portion of the digital data for transmission to the wireless device via a satellite network; and
sending, to a satellite uplink, said first portion of the digital data.
12 . The method of claim 11 further comprising sending a second portion of the digital data to the wireless device via a terrestrial wireless network.
13 . The method of claim 11 wherein said allocating comprises:
determining if a transmission requirement of the digital data exceeds a capacity of a terrestrial wireless network, wherein the wireless device is configured to operate in the terrestrial wireless network; and
selecting said first portion responsive to said determining.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a minimum bandwidth and the capacity comprises a maximum bandwidth.
15 . The method of claim 13 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a size of the digital data and the capacity comprises a maximum data size.
16 . The method of claim 13 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a set of cost of service parameters and the capacity comprises a maximum cost.
17 . The method of claim 13 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a throughput parameter and the capacity comprises a maximum throughput.
18 . A computer readable medium, comprising executable instructions to:
facilitate receiving, at the wireless device, a first portion of the digital data provided from a satellite included within a satellite network;
select, at the wireless device, at least part of said first portion for storage;
store, at the wireless device, said selected digital data from said first portion; and
facilitate receiving, at the wireless device, a second portion of the digital data provided via a terrestrial wireless network.
19 . The medium of claim 18 further comprising instructions to generate and send, via the terrestrial wireless network, a request for satellite data transmission.
20 . The medium of claim 19 wherein the request for satellite data transmission is generated automatically by the wireless device.
21 . The medium of claim 19 wherein the request for satellite data transmission is generated in response to a user input.
22 . The medium of claim 19 wherein the terrestrial wireless network is a cellular network.
23 . The medium of claim 19 wherein the terrestrial wireless network is a local area network (LAN).
24 . The medium of claim 23 wherein the LAN is an 802.11 based LAN.
25 . The method of claim 19 further comprising instructions to:
select, at the wireless device, at least part of said second portion for storage; and
store, at the wireless device, said selected part of said second portion.
26 . The medium of claim 25 wherein said selected part of said first portion and said selected part of said second portion are chosen based at least in part on a user supplied selection criteria.
27 . The medium of claim 19 wherein said selected part of said first portion is selected based at least in part on a user supplied selection criteria.
28 . A computer readable medium, comprising executable instructions to:
facilitate receiving, at a control unit, a request for transmission of digital data to a wireless device, said request provided via a terrestrial wireless network;
allocate, at the control unit, a first portion of the digital data for transmission to the wireless device via a satellite network; and
send, to a satellite uplink, from the server, said first portion of the digital data.
29 . The medium of claim 28 wherein the instructions for allocating comprise instructions to:
determine if a transmission requirement of the digital data exceeds a capacity of a terrestrial wireless network, wherein the wireless device is configured to operate in the terrestrial wireless network; and
select said first portion responsive to said determining.
30 . The medium of claim 29 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a minimum bandwidth and the capacity comprises a maximum bandwidth.
31 . The medium of claim 29 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a size of the digital data and the capacity comprises a maximum data size.
32 . The medium of claim 29 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a set of cost of service parameters and the capacity comprises a maximum cost.
33 . The medium of claim 29 wherein the transmission requirement comprises a throughput parameter and the capacity comprises a maximum throughput.