Method and apparatus for tailoring carrier power requirements according to availability in layered modulation systems

A method and apparatus for transmitting a layered modulation signal having a first signal layer having first signal symbols and a second signal layer having second signal symbols is described. The method comprises the steps of determining a first signal layer modulation carrier power C1 at least partly in accordance with a first signal layer clear sky margin ML and a first signal layer availability, determining a second signal layer modulation carrier power Cu at least partially in accordance with a second signal layer clear sky margin MU and a second signal layer availability signal according to a first carrier at the predetermined first signal layer modulation carrier power; modulate the other signal symbols in accordance with the second carrier at the predetermined second signal layer modulation carrier effect, and transmit the two layers independently.