Time-Scale-Adaptable Spectrum Sharing for Hybrid Satellite-Terrestrial Networks

2026-01-26

AI Summary

This work addresses spectrum scarcity in hybrid satellite–terrestrial networks by proposing a time-scale-adaptive spectrum sharing framework. Under coarse-grained network-wide time synchronization, the framework leverages a satellite–terrestrial collaboration mechanism to flexibly adjust the time scale, enabling full or partial frequency reuse and multi-satellite selection. It jointly optimizes link scheduling and power control using only statistical channel state information. To efficiently solve the resulting mixed-integer programming problem, a low-complexity algorithm is developed, combining hierarchical clustering guided by link-feature sketches with a Monte Carlo successive approximation approach. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme effectively exploits link diversity arising from user spatial distribution, significantly improving the network’s average aggregate throughput under stringent interference constraints while ensuring quality of service.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Optimization

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Experiences and lessons learnt from Web-based algorithms and system deployments
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements

Abstract

Cooperation between satellite and terrestrial wireless networks promises great potential in meeting fast-growing demands for ubiquitous communications coverage. To tackle spectrum scarcity, spectrum sharing is studied for a hybrid satellite-terrestrial network where satellite links share the same group of time-slotted sub-carriers with terrestrial links opportunistically. In particular, with coarse network-wide time synchronization, a time-scale-adaptable spectrum sharing framework is proposed based on a satellite-terrestrial cooperation time scale that can be flexibly adjusted according to practical requirements. For generality, it is assumed that both full and partial frequency reuse could be adopted among the base stations (BSs) and satellite selection is supported when multiple satellites are available. Relying on only statistical channel state information (CSI), joint link scheduling and power control are explored to maximize the average sum rate of the network while ensuring quality of service (QoS) for users. To solve the complicated mixed integer programming (MIP) problem, a low-complexity spectrum sharing scheme is presented based on link-feature-sketching-aided hierarchical link clustering and Monte-Carlo-and-successive-approximation-aided transmit power optimization. Simulation results demonstrate that by link feature sketching, diversity of the links brought by the spatial distribution of the users could be well utilized. The proposed scheme promises a significant performance gain even under strict inter-link interference constraints.

Problem

• spectrum sharing
• hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks
• time-scale adaptation
• interference management
• quality of service

Innovation

• time-scale-adaptable
• spectrum sharing
• hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks
• link-feature sketching
• statistical CSI