Abstract: A two-way satellite communications system includes an Earth station communicating with a plurality of remote terminals using a network access protocol that facilitates low power consumption by the terminals. The earth station generates forward link TDM packet data transmissions on one or more satellite channels, and detects, despreads and decodes multiple concurrent return link slotted CDMA packet transmissions on one or more satellite channels. It communicates through a wired connection with a packet processing center which ultimately both delivers return link packet data to end-customers and receives forward link packet data from end-customers. The remote terminals receive, process and act upon forward link TDM transmissions on one or more satellite channels, and generate slotted spread spectrum CDMA transmissions on the return link on one or more satellite channels.

Abstract: A method of transmitting communication information employing a coding scheme being defined by a character set. The characters of the character set are encoded into codewords of a sequence of bits, the codewords being of varying length. The characters are divided into at least two categories. The categories may be a first category of shifted characters and a second category of unshifted characters. Where a shifted character is encountered during encoding a shift codeword is inserted in the sequence of bits. This allows each category to use overlapping codewords. Then the sequence is converted to ASCII characters to be transmitted.

Abstract: A system for disseminating information over a wide area network includes a central caching unit for storing data to be made available over the wide area network. Local access give users access to the wide area network. Distributed caching units associated with the local access nodes for store cacheable material. A satellite communications system establishes satellite communications between the central caching unit and the local caching units for the transfer of cacheable material from the central caching unit to the local units. A router at the local access nodes routes packets from users to a destination address. The router includes local routing tables containing the addresses of material cached at the associated local node and responds to routing requests for locally cached material by directing the requests to the local cache.