System and method for adaptive eirp density control and throughput maximization in wireless communication systems

An uplink power control system for a gateway of a satellite communication system, the uplink power control system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory in communication with the processor, the memory comprising executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the uplink power control system to perform functions of:
• receiving a maximum transmit power adjustment parameter from a user terminal (UT), the maximum transmit power adjustment parameter being indicative of a current maximum transmit power for an antenna of the UT;
• calculating a power spectral density per resource block and a maximum number of resource blocks to allocate based on the current maximum transmit power;
• and
• transmitting an allocation instruction message to the UT indicating the maximum number of resource blocks to allocate,
• wherein:
• each of the resource blocks is a block of frequencies and/or time durations that are available to the UT to transmit wireless signals over an uplink channel between the UT and the gateway;
• the UT includes a plurality of carriers;
• the current maximum transmit power corresponds to a maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) for the antenna;
• and
• the allocation instruction message indicates a maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to each of the plurality of carriers based on using a power headroom for each carrier to determine a power per resource block, comprising a transmit power used per currently allocated power for each carrier, and using the power per resource block to determine the maximum number of resource blocks that can be allocated to each of the carriers so that the allocation of the maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to each of the plurality of carriers is based on the power headroom for each carrier rather than being an assigned dedicated portion of the maximum EIRP.

A method of performing uplink power control for at least one user terminal communicatively coupled to a gateway via an uplink channel, the method comprising:

• receiving a maximum transmit power adjustment parameter from a user terminal (UT), the UT being one of a plurality of UTs sharing the uplink channel, the maximum transmit power adjustment parameter being indicative of a current maximum transmit power for an antenna of the UT;
• calculating a power spectral density per resource block and a maximum number of resource blocks to allocate based on the current maximum transmit power;
• and
• transmitting an allocation instruction message to the UT indicating the maximum number of resource blocks to allocate,
• wherein:
• each of the resource blocks is a block of frequencies and/or time durations that are available to the UT to transmit wireless signals over an uplink channel between the UT and the gateway;
• the UT includes a plurality of carriers;
• the current maximum transmit power corresponds to a maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) for the antenna;
• and
• the allocation instruction message indicates a maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to each of the plurality of carriers based on using a power headroom for each carrier to determine a power per resource block, comprising a transmit power used per currently allocated power for each carrier, and using the power per resource block to determine the maximum number of resource blocks that can be allocated to each of the carriers so that the allocation of the maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to each of the plurality of carriers is based on the power headroom for each carrier rather than being an assigned dedicated portion of the maximum EIRP.

A gateway for a satellite communication system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory in communication with the processor, the memory comprising executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the gateway to perform functions of:
• periodically receiving a current scan angle of an antenna for a user terminal;
• determining a current maximum transmit power for the antenna based on the current scan angle, the current maximum transmit power being dependent upon a regulatory limit defined for the antenna;
• calculating a power spectral density per resource block and a maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to the user terminal based on the current maximum transmit power;
• adjusting a power spectral density (PSD) limit for the antenna based on the current maximum transmit power;
• using the PSD limit as a power limit mask to maintain a PSD level of the antenna below the regulatory limit;
• and
• transmitting an allocation instruction message to the user terminal indicating the maximum number of resource blocks to allocate,
• wherein:
• each of the resource blocks is a block of frequencies and/or time durations that are available to the user terminal to transmit wireless signals over an uplink channel between the user terminal and the gateway;
• the user terminal includes a plurality of carriers;
• the current maximum transmit power corresponds to a maximum Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) for the antenna;
• and
• the allocation instruction message indicates a maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to each of the plurality of carriers based on using a power headroom for each carrier to determine a power per resource block, comprising a transmit power used per currently allocated power for each carrier, and using the power per resource block to determine the maximum number of resource blocks that can be allocated to each of the carriers so that the allocation of the maximum number of resource blocks to allocate to each of the plurality of carriers is based on the power headroom for each carrier rather than being an assigned dedicated portion of the maximum EIRP.