High Altitude Platform Cellular Systems

A method of providing cellular coverage on the ground, said method comprising:

• locating an antenna system above the earth, said antenna system comprising S phased array panels arranged about a common vertical axis, wherein each phased array panel of the S phased array panels is an array of antenna elements and has a downward tilt, wherein the S phased array panels are organized into a plurality of groups of phased array panels, each group of phased array panels among the plurality of groups of phased array panels including an integer number of adjacent phased array panels among the S phased array panels, wherein L is an integer greater than 1, and S is an integer greater than L;
• generating a first plurality of narrow directed beams covering a first plurality of cells, said first plurality of cells forming an outer ring of cellular coverage on the surface of the earth;
• and
• generating a second plurality of narrow directed beams covering a second plurality of cells, said second plurality of cells forming an inner ring of coverage on the surface of the earth, wherein the inner ring of coverage is within the outer ring of coverage,
• wherein generating the first plurality of narrow directed beams comprises, with each phased array panel of the S phased array panels, generating N narrow directed beams of the first plurality of narrow directed beams, wherein N is an integer greater than 1;
• and
• wherein generating the second plurality of narrow directed beams comprises, with each group of phased array panels among the plurality of groups of phased array panels, generating M narrow directed beams of the second plurality of narrow directed beams, wherein M is an integer greater than 0.