Popularity-aware bitrate adaptation of linear programming for mobile communications

A system for popularity-aware bitrate adaptation in content delivery over a constrained, multi-carrier communications network, the system comprising:

• a scoring subsystem that computes channel popularity scores for a plurality of channel offerings, wherein each channel offering of the plurality of channel offerings is distributable to a plurality of client devices disposed in a plurality of transport craft, is sourced by a content server system over the communications network, and comprises linear programming,
• the channel popularity scores being computed on a per-carrier basis, such that, upon a group of transport craft being concurrently serviced by a same carrier of the multi-carrier communications network, the channel popularity score of a channel offering of the plurality of channel offerings is computed in aggregate across the group of transport craft;
• and
• a delivery subsystem that, for the channel offering of the plurality of channel offerings:
• determines a bitrate for the channel offering based at least in part on the channel popularity score of the channel offering;
• communicates a proxy request to the content server system for the channel offering;
• receives the requested channel offering from the content server system in response to the proxy request;
• and
• delivers a determined-bitrate instance of the channel offering to the group of transport craft by communicating the channel offering over the communications network at the determined bitrate.