Abstract: An approach for performing congestion avoidance in a switching communication system is disclosed. An input port of the switching communication system receives a bandwidth request from a source. The switching communication system includes a bandwidth control processor that examines the bandwidth request, and multiple output ports. The output ports communicate with various destination sites. A congestion avoidance logic within the switching communication system generates multiple clusters based upon a transmission constraint associated with the output ports; each of the clusters corresponds to a portion of the destination sites. The congestion avoidance logic determines a cluster threshold that corresponds to traffic load distribution among the critical clusters. Additionally, the congestion avoidance logic selectively grants the bandwidth request based upon the determined cluster threshold.

Abstract: An access terminal for initiating spot beam selection in a satellite communication system, in which the access terminal includes a receiver for measuring the received signal strength (RSS) of a multiplicity of radio frequency communication spot beam links. The access terminal is further provided with a microcontroller for comparing the received signal strengths from each of the multiplicity of spot beams to initiate information communication via a communication channel of the satellite communication system. In a described embodiment, the controller of the access terminal compares seven spot beam links to determine whether to initiate information communication with one of the seven spot beams received. Additionally, a memory coupled to the controller of the access terminal is used for storing spot beam identification information including the spot beam links assigned to the access terminal via the satellite communication system.

Abstract: An overload control for a central processor in the switching network of a mobile radio system. The central processor may be part of a Mobile services Switching Center (MSC). Congestion reports, based on the delay experienced by messages awaiting processing at the central processor, are broadcast to peripheral processors. The peripheral processors may be located in the MSC at interfaces of the MSC to other network elements such as base stations, the PSTN, other MSCs. Peripheral processors maintain variable message origination thresholds responsive to the congestion reports.