Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for antenna-configuration techniques that reduce interference between terrestrial and satellite links.

U.S. Patent No. 7,218,931 is titled “Staggered Sectorization for Terrestrial Reuse of Satellite Frequencies” and was issued May 15. The patent marks the 21st issued to MSV since 2004, protecting the company’s hybrid satellite-terrestrial system including Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) technology.

Overall, MSV said it owns more than 70 issued U.S. patents and has more than 100 pending applications in the United States and abroad.