Control of connectivity between a satellite and a wide area network using a common control plane

Abstract

A wide area network (WAN) communication framework having a common control plane and method for using the same are disclosed. In some embodiments, the wide area network (WAN) communication framework comprises: a plurality of management systems, each for controlling access to and traffic for one of a plurality of WANs that include satellite and terrestrial communication networks; a remote unit capable of communicably coupling to the plurality of WANs; and a master network management system (MNMS). The MNMS is communicably coupled to the plurality of management systems and coupled to the remote unit to aggregate control information from the plurality of management systems and the remote unit to determine which WANs of the plurality of WANs for the remote unit to use, wherein the MNMS uses a common control plane communicably coupled to the remote unit for control and routing of control traffic, including information indicating which WANs of the plurality of WANs to which the remote terminal can connect, the common control plane including a single, continuous control channel to which the remote terminal is connectable simultaneously with a connection to a WAN of the plurality of WANs.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.