SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF UTILIZING MULTIPLE SATELLITE TRANSPONDERS FOR DATA DISTRIBUTION

1 . A content receiver, comprising:

a plurality of receiver modules, wherein each of the plurality of receiver modules is configured to receive one of a plurality of component satellite transponder signals generated from a composite signal; and

a combiner module configured to provide a combined output signal based upon a plurality of output signals generated by the plurality of receiver modules.

2 . The content receiver of claim 1 further comprising an error correction module coupled to the combiner module.

3 . The content receiver of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of receiver modules comprises:

a tuner;

an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the tuner; and

a digital demodulator coupled to the analog-to-digital converter.

4 . The content receiver of claim 3 wherein the combiner module comprises a combiner circuit configured to:

receive the plurality of output signals from the receiver modules, the plurality of output signals comprising digital demodulated data signals; and

combine the plurality of digital demodulated data signals to generate the combined output signal.

5 . The content receiver of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of receiver modules comprises:

a tuner module; and

an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the tuner module.

6 . The content receiver of claim 5 wherein the combiner module comprises a combiner circuit configured to:

receive the plurality of output signals from the receiver modules, the plurality of output signals comprising undemodulated signals; and

combine the plurality of undemodulated signals to generate the combined output signal.

7 . The content receiver of claim 6 further comprising a digital demodulator coupled to the combiner module to receive the combined output signal and provide a demodulated combined output signal.

8 . The content receiver of claim 7 further comprising an error correction module coupled to the digital demodulator.

9 . A method, comprising:

receiving a plurality of satellite transponder signals, said plurality of satellite transponder signals being generated from a composite signal;

providing a corresponding plurality of output signals; and

combining the plurality of output signals to generate a combined output signal.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein the providing a corresponding plurality of output signals comprises:

converting the plurality of transponder signals to a corresponding plurality of analog received signals;

converting the plurality of analog received signals to a corresponding plurality of digitized received signals; and

demodulating the plurality of digitized received signals to generate the plurality of output signals.

11 . The method of claim 10 wherein the combined output signal comprises a demodulated signal.

12 . The method of claim 11 further comprising error correcting the combined output signal.

13 . The method of claim 9 wherein the providing a corresponding plurality of output signals comprises:

converting the plurality of transponder signals to a corresponding plurality of analog received signals; and

converting the plurality of analog received signals to a corresponding plurality of digitized received signals.

14 . The method of claim 13 wherein the combined output signal is an undemodulated signal.

15 . The method of claim 14 further comprising demodulating the combined output signal to generate a demodulated combined output signal.

16 . The method of claim 15 further comprising error correcting the demodulated combined output signal.

17 . An uplink system for providing a composite signal for transmission to satellite, comprising:

a signal divider module configured to receive a first digital data signal and provide a plurality of divided signals;

a plurality of frequency converters configured to receive the plurality of divided signals and generate a corresponding plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals; and

a signal combiner module configured to receive the plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals and generate the composite signal.

18 . The system of claim 17 wherein the signal divider module is configured to divide signal power of the first digital data signal among the divided signals.

19 . The system of claim 18 wherein the divided signals are provided at a lower power level than the first digital data signal.

20 . The system of claim 17 wherein the signal divider module is configured to divide signal content of the first digital data signal among the divided signals.

21 . The system of claim 20 wherein the divided signals are provided at a lower data rate than the first digital data signal.

22 . The system of claim 21 wherein the data content of ones of the plurality of divided signals is mutually exclusive.

23 . The system of claim 17 wherein the plurality of frequency converters are configured to generate the ones of the plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals in a plurality of frequency bands.

24 . The system of claim 23 wherein the plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals have non-overlapping spectra.

25 . The system of claim 17 further comprising:

a digital-to-analog converter configured to receive an input digital data signal and provide an analog data signal; and

a modulator configured to receive the analog data signal and modulate the analog signal to provide the first digital data signal.

26 . A method of providing a composite signal for satellite transmission comprising:

receiving a first digital data signal;

generating, based on the first digital data signal, a plurality of divided signals;

converting the plurality of divided signals into a corresponding plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals; and

combining the second intermediate frequency divided signals to generate a composite signal.

27 . The method of claim 26 wherein the plurality of divided signals are generated based on signal power.

28 . The method of claim 26 wherein the plurality of divided signals are generated based on signal content.

29 . The method of claim 28 wherein the signal content of ones of the plurality of divided signals is mutually exclusive.

30 . The method of claim 26 wherein the plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals are provided in a plurality of frequency bands.

31 . The method of claim 30 wherein the plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals have non-overlapping spectra.

32 . The method of claim 36 further comprising:

receiving an input digital data signal;

providing an analog data signal based on the input digital data signal; and

modulating the analog data signal to generate the first digital data signal.

33 . A system for providing digital content in conjunction with a plurality of satellite transponders of a satellite, the system comprising:

An uplink system including:

a signal divider module configured to receive a first digital data signal and provide a plurality of divided signals;

a plurality of frequency converters configured to receive the plurality divided signals and generate a corresponding plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals;

a signal combiner module configured to receive the plurality of second intermediate frequency divided signals and generate a composite signal for provision to the satellite; and

a content receiver configured to provide a combined output signal based upon a plurality of component transponder signals received from the satellite.

34 . The system of claim 33 wherein the content receiver includes:

a plurality of receiver modules, each of the receiver modules being configured to:

receive the plurality of transponder signals from the satellite, said plurality of transponder signals generated from the composite signal provided to the satellite; and

provide ones of a corresponding plurality of output signals; and

a combiner module configured to combine the plurality of output signals to provide the combined output signal.

35 . A method of providing a digital data signal to a content receiver comprising:

providing, to a satellite, a composite signal derived from a first digital data signal;

receiving, from the satellite, a plurality of transponder signals generated from the composite signal;

providing a corresponding plurality of output signals; and

combining the plurality of output signals to regenerate the first digital data signal.

36 . The method of claim 35 further including:

receiving the first digital data signal at an uplink apparatus;

generating, based on the first digital data signal, a plurality of divided signals;

converting the plurality of divided signals into a corresponding plurality of intermediate frequency divided signals; and

combining the intermediate frequency divided signals to generate the composite signal.