| CPC H04B 7/18513 (2013.01) [H04B 7/18515 (2013.01); H04B 7/1856 (2013.01); H04B 7/18584 (2013.01); H04W 40/12 (2013.01); H04W 40/246 (2013.01); H04B 7/18593 (2013.01)] | 24 Claims |

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1. A radio communications system capable of providing a radio route for transmitting data between plural system nodes including multiple orbiting satellite nodes, wherein:
each of a number of said multiple orbiting satellite nodes includes a plurality of satellite antennas having separate identities for transmitting and receiving radio signals in a plurality of different directions, route creation circuitry for transmitting routing messages to and receiving routing messages transmitted from other system nodes, and data transmission circuitry for transmitting data to other system nodes;
said route creation circuitry of a said orbiting satellite node determines a value of a parameter associated with an initial routing message received by said orbiting satellite node from an initiating ground another system node, the value of the parameter indicating the suitability of including said orbiting satellite node as a link in a radio route for transmitting the data to the other system node;
said route creation circuitry of the said orbiting satellite node transmits on at least one said satellite antenna a further routing message incorporating a parameter value associated with an initial routing message received from said initiating ground node;
route creation circuitry in a further system node that receives said further routing message determines the value of said parameter associated with said received further routing message and determines a combined parameter value based on said value and the parameter value incorporated in said received further routing message, said combined parameter value indicating the suitability of including said further system node and the said orbiting satellite node as a radio link for transmitting the data to said initiating ground node; and
said data transmission circuitry of said further system node transmits the data to said orbiting satellite node using an antenna selected by said route creation circuitry of said further system node based at least in part on the value of the combined parameter associated with a said further routing message received on said antenna said data transmission circuitry of said orbiting satellite node transmits the data to the other system node using a satellite antenna selected by route creation circuitry of the said orbiting satellite node based at least in part on the value of the parameter associated with a routing message received on said satellite antenna.
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