Beam Hopping for LEO Satellite:Challenges and Opportunities

Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks can provide global broadband access services and thus are complementary to current terrestrial mobile communication systems. The limited resources of LEO satellite platform and the uneven distribution of ground services bring many challenges to the design of satellite ground access scheme. The beam hopping (BH) technology meets the non-uniform and dynamic service requirements of users through time slicing technology, and enhances the resource utilization and service capability of satellites. However, the application of BH technology in LEO satellites is facing many challenges. This paper analyzes and considers from the system and technical aspects, combs and analyzes its research work. Finally, the development trend of BH system is given, which provides an idea for the application and development of BH technology for LEO satellites.