2014 7th Advanced Satellite Multimedia Systems Conference and the 13th Signal Processing for Space Communications
Workshop (ASMS/SPSC)
DVB-S2X Channel Models
Rationale and Justifications
A.Ginesi
ESTEC
ESA
Noordwijk, The Netherlands
alberto.ginesi@esa.int
Abstract— This paper describes the channel models that
are being used within the DVB-S2X standardization effort to
define the next generation air interface for satellite broadcast
systems. These channel models have been selected in order to
represent the most common on-board and on-ground
equipment characteristics as well as system configurations. The
channel linear and non-linear distortions are described in
details and their effects to the end-to-end performance
characterized in terms of the resulting carrier-to-interference
ratio. The channel propagation contributions affecting the
overall link C/I (cross-polar) is also described. Finally, a model
allowing to assess the performance of advanced adjacent
satellite interference cancellation techniques is also introduced.
The models described in this paper are also currently being
used to fully characterize the performance of the DVB-S2x
specifications for the preparation of the Guidelines document.
Keywords—DVB-S2X; DTH; Broadcasting; Satellite;
Channel; Propagation
I. INTRODUCTION
The currently on-going DVB-S2x standardization effort
is defining the next generation air interface for future satellite
broadcast, broadband, point-to-point and mobile
communications. Within this effort an extensive set of
computer simulations have been run by the main contributors
to assess the performance of the different proposed
technologies within a realistic satellite channel model. This
channel model has been prepared by the “Channel Model
Group” of the TM-S2 working group thanks to the technical
contributions of the European Space Agency and the main
satellite operators and manufacturers [1].
Due to space limitation, this paper summarizes the results
of this effort related only to the broadcast scenario. In
addition, it provides some insights on the expected end-to-
end performance degradation (in terms of carrier-to-
interference ratio) that some key payload related issues (on-
board filters, HPA and adjacent carrier interference) have to
the end-to-end link performance.
It is to be underlined that it is not the scope of this paper
to thoroughly represents all the possible system satellite
broadcasting scenarios. Indeed, it is recognized that the
detailed specifications and characteristics of DTH
transponders may present relatively large fluctuations
depending on many different design criteria. Also, the
specific satellite transponder characteristics that have been
978-1-4799-5893-1/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE
S. Cioni and M. Angelone
ESTEC
Ajilon for ESA
Noordwijk, The Netherlands
{stefano.cioni, martina.angelone}@esa.int
used in this paper are not meant to be considered as reference
design for broadcast satellite payloads supporting next
generation DVB-S2X specifications.
The paper is organized as follows: Chapter II describes
the general block diagram of the channel model; Chapter III
and Chapter IV details the model of the components within
the uplink ground station and the payload, respectively;
Chapter V deals with the models of the propagation channel
while Chapter VI and IV describe the details of the models
of the adjacent satellite interference and user terminal blocks,
respectively; finally Chapter VIII shows the expected impact
of the main channel impairments to the end-to-end link
budget and Chapter IX draws some conclusions of the paper.
II. BLOCK DIAGRAM
For DTH broadcasting services, both Ku and Ka bands
are typically used. Single carrier per transponder
configuration is by far the most common configuration in
Ku-band, while in Ka-band multi-carrier configurations are
also used. In the following we will focus on the first case due
to its wider usage.
Fig. 1 represents the complete end-to-end block diagram
of the DTH channel model, which we will be referring to in
the rest of the chapter to illustrate its different components.
Although uplink of multiple carriers from a single station
is possible, here we consider three carriers to be uplinked by
three different ground stations. The frequency spacing of the
carriers is equal to the ones of the payload transponders.
Within this set, the carrier under test is assumed to be the
central frequency carrier (i.e. the one with an adjacent
carriers on each side). The adjacent carriers can be simulated
from the carrier under test by delaying the latter by different
time delays so as to simulate complete uncorrelation among
the carriers.
The carrier under test (central carrier) is also optionally
reduced in power by a factor APU to take into account any
uncompensated fading events on the uplink: the proposed
set-up assumes that the two adjacent carriers do not suffer
from fading while the central carrier is possibly subject of
fading of up to 8 dB. This represents a worst case condition
in that i) the two adjacent carriers are assumed in clear sky
(worst case uplink interference) and ii) the ground stations
are assumed to be without any power control.
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Workshop (ASMS/SPSC)

In single carrier per transponder configurations, an ALC UPLINK STATIONS

UPLINK
SATELLITE TXP
ej2πfTt
(Automatic Level Control) always feeds the TWTA input in STATION
X
IMUX TWTA OMUX
HPA X
order to normalize its input power to the desired back-off.
DELAY 1

This block (not shown in the overall diagram) has the effect APU

UPLINK
DELAY 2 X
to compensate any power unbalance for the carrier under
X ADJACENT
DELAY 55
DELAY STATION TXP
HPA e-j2πfTt INTERF*

analysis, thus limiting its effects to a degraded adjacent e -j2πfTt

AP1ej2πfP1t
carrier-to-interference power ratio due to in-band IMUX DELAY 6
X UPLINK
DELAY 3 X
STATION
leakages. ej2πfTt
HPA
DELAY 4 X
The AM/AM and AM/PM characteristics of the HPA of AP2e-j2πfP2t
CROSS-POL

the three uplink stations are simulated by the model

TXP
INTERF**

described in Fig. 2. As for the working point of the HPA PHASE AND FREQ.
ERRORS

(assumed the same for the three stations), an optimized value

has to be selected also taking into account the requirement to RECEIVER
AMPLITUDE
DISTORTIONS
X
minimize the adjacent channel interference. It is important to ADJACENT

underline that, in order to well represent the non-linear AWGN

SATELLITE
INTERFERENCE
***
USER
EQUIPMENT

behavior of the HPA, a high sampling frequency shall be RECEIVER

used, so as to avoid aliasing effects of the intermodulation

distortion images. A minimum oversampling factor of 10
(with respect to the composite – i.e. of the set of carriers - Fig. 1. Channel model Block diagram for the DTH broadcasting services
signal bandwidth) is typically recommended.
Following the HPA, the IMUX filter selects the carrier III. UPLINK STATION MODEL
under test and removes the other adjacent carriers, following
the transfer function model of Fig. 3. A. Uplink station HPA model
The second block of the transponder corresponds to the Fig. 2 represents a typical AM/AM and AM/PM of the
TWTA for which the models for the AM/AM and AM/PM ground station HPA.
characteristics, are shown in Fig. 5 . The single carrier that
The operational point of the HPA (IBO/OBO) has to be
has been selected by the IMUX is amplified at an operational
selected in order to comply with typical out-of-band
working point to be optimized. Same considerations as in the
emissions recommended by the satellite operator. A
case of the ground station HPA applies here for what
conservative working assumption is to limit the spectrum
concerns the requirements for the oversampling factor.
regrowth spill-over power at -30 dB. However, to be noted
Next, the OMUX filter is responsible for shaping the that in certain cases the satellite operators are prepared to
non-linearly distorted carrier in order to limit the interference relax their requirements on a case-by-case basis, so higher
to adjacent transponders. Its frequency response model is out-of-band power levels might be acceptable.
depicted in Fig. 4.
The next block introduces in the channel the effects of
the adjacent transponder interference, by shifting in time and
frequency the carrier under test so as to simulate the adjacent
transponder carriers placed and ±fT.
Cross-polar interference is then added to the channel
according to the models described in Chapter V. Typical
values for the amplitudes Ap1, Ap2 and the frequencies fp1
and fp2 are presented in TABLE II.
The blocks labelled in red ‘Adjacent Satellite
Interference’ can also be included and its model is described
in Chapter VI.
The AWGN block adds the noise to the channel
Fig. 2. Typical TWTA Ground Station AM/AM and AM/PM
according to the target signal to noise ratio. The terminal characteristics.
receiver imperfections are then added through the phase and
frequency errors mainly caused by the user terminal LNB
(see Chapter VII for the details of the model) and the IV. SATELLITE PAYLOAD MODEL
amplitude gain ripple and slope caused by the LNB and the
interfacility link coax cable (also in Chapter VII). A. IMUX and OMUX filters
The IMUX and OMUX filters models for a 36 MHz
bandwidth and 40 MHz spacing are reported hereafter in Fig.
3 and Fig. 4.

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In [1] the following scaling formula is suggested for

using the same frequency responses at a different 0

transponder bandwidth: -5

-10

R(f) = Rejection (f x 36/BW(MHz)) -15

Amplitude, dB
G(f) = (36/BW(MHz))* Group-delay (f x 36/BW(MHz))
-20

-25

where BW is transponder bandwidth, Rejection and -30

Group-delay are the amplitude and group delay frequency -35

responses described in the aforementioned figures; finally, -40

R(f) and G(f) are the amplitude and group delay frequency -45

responses for the transponder with bandwidth equal to BW. -50

-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
Frequency, MHz
This formula assumes that the ratio between the
transponders’ spacing and the transponder bandwidth
remains constant at a value of 40/36=1.11. It is recognized 50
that these scaling formula cannot exactly reproduce the exact
40
frequency response for any bandwidth, while instead they
can produce a fairly good approximation, at least for the 30

purpose of estimating the end-to-end link performance.

Group Delay, ns
20

10
The represented frequency responses of the IMUX and
0
OMUX filters, though being taken from a real transponder,
are not meant to exactly model the transfer function of all the -10

OMUX and IMUX filters being deployed in existing -20

payloads. In particular, a relatively large variation of the -30

characteristics may occur as the ratio between transponder -30 -20 -10 0
Frequency, MHz
10 20 30

spacing and bandwidth normally varies. Nevertheless, these

models are considered quite realistic for existing broadcast Fig. 4. OMUX Amplitude and Group Delay response models (for 36 MHz
payloads. bandwidth and 40 MHz transponder spacing)

0 B. On-board TWTA
-5
In Fig. 5 the conventional TWTA AM/AM and AM/PM
-10
characteristics which are typically considered for DTH
-15
applications for both Ku and Ka-band is shown. Single
Amplitude, dB

-20

-25
carrier per transponder operation is assumed.
-30

-35

-40

-45

-50
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30
Frequency, MHz

120

100

80

60
Group Delay, ns

40

20

-20
Fig. 5. Conventional TWTA Amplitude and Phase response model as in
-40 [1]
-60
-20 -10 0 10 20 30
Frequency, MHz In [1] the characteristics of a linearized TWTA model are
presented, but are not reported here for reasons of brevity.
Fig. 3. IMUX Amplitude and Group Delay response models (for 36 MHz
bandwidth and 40 MHz transponder spacing)

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V. PROPAGATION CHANNEL polarization being more sensitive to atmospheric

depolarization) as well as the higher frequency (Ka vs. Ku).

A. Cross-polar model
The cross-polar interference within the satellite downlink
consists in three contributions: i) the satellite antenna cross-
polar isolation, ii) the depolarization effect due to the
propagation through the atmosphere and iii) the user terminal
antenna cross-polar isolation.
1) Satellite antenna cross-polar isolation
The polarization discrimination of current antenna systems
employed in both Ku and Ka bands depends on the particular
architecture and geometry of the antenna. The cross-polar
pattern of the antenna highly depends on the type of
polarization, i.e. linear versus circular. However, near-worst
case values of cross-polar isolation XPITX within the main
co-polar beam are typically around 32 dB for both Ku and
Fig. 6. Cumulative Distribution Function of the atmospheric
Ka bands. depolarization XPD in Ku band and vertical linear polarization

2) Depolarization
Depolarization is a result of differential attenuation of the
electromagnetic wave vector along different directions.
Such differential attenuation is mainly caused by asymmetry
(with respect to an ideal spherical form factor) in raindrops
and ice particles which can in the end produce a coupling
between orthogonal polarizations. Rain depolarization is a
function of the wave polarization, elevation angle,
frequency, and rain attenuation. With linear polarization,
depolarization increases with the polarization tilt angle with
respect to the local horizontal plane, and reaches its worst
case value for angle of 45°[5].
Circularly polarized waves are equivalent, from the point of
view of depolarization effects, to 45° linearly polarized
wave. At Ka band frequencies rain depolarization becomes Fig. 7. Cumulative Distribution Function of the atmospheric
significant only at fade levels in excess of about 10 dB. On depolarization XPD in Ka band and circular polarization
the other hand ice depolarization can be experienced
without significant fading along the link. Rain and ice 3) User terminal antenna cross-polar isolation
depolarization may be predicted using empirical techniques Typical value near worst case values XPIRX are around
such as the one recommended by the ITU-R Rec. 618-10 for 25 dB for both Ku and Ka bands and linear and circular
the computation of the XPD. polarizations.
The following figures show some statistics of the 4) Cross-polarization summary model
depolarization factor XPD for both the 11 GHz band (Ku) The total cross-polar interference power can be computed
with vertical polarization (the horizontal polarization would by adding the interference power contributions from the
give similar results) and the 20 GHz band (Ka) with a three components described above:
circular polarization. In particular, the figures describe the
Icross= IcrossTX + IcrossRX + Idepol (1)
spatial CDF function of the XPD value over Europe for two
given percentage of temporal probability, i.e. 99.9% (which Under the assumption of equal transmitted power in both
corresponds to large fading attenuations) and 95% (which polarizations, it can be shown that the total C/I due to cross-
corresponds to much milder fading attenuation). As shown, polar interference can be computed as:
in both cases there is almost 20 dB gap between the light C/Icross = [ XPITX-1 + XPIRX-1 + XPD-1]-1 (2)
and the deep fading conditions. In addition, circular
polarization experiences much higher atmospheric Considering only the XPI terms (satellite and terminal
depolarization effects than the linear one. For example, for antenna) the total is around 24 dB so the XPD contribution
99.9% time availability and 90% coverage, while the linear may be considered negligible at Ku band with linear
polarization in Ku band experiences about 38 dB of XPD, polarization (XPD being higher than 38 dB), while at Ka-
the circular polarization in Ka is subject to 18 dB only. This band with circular polarization the total C/I would result to
is a combined effects of the polarization type (circular about 17dB when in the presence of deep fading events,

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Workshop (ASMS/SPSC)

while it would be similar to the Ku-band case (24 dB) for

light fading attenuations. This is all summarized in the
following table: B. Fading Dynamics

TABLE I. NEAR-WORST CASE ( IN TIME AND LOCATION) CARRIER- For DTH reception in Ku band, the typical satellite EIRP
TO-INTERFERENCE RATIO VALUES FOR TWO SCENARIOS OVER EUROPE.
varies between 47 and 63 dBW. Different terminal antenna
sizes are requested to support DTH reception, according to
Ku band – Linear Pol. Ka band–Circular Pol. the geographical position of the user within the satellite
C/Icross, dB C/Icross, dB
coverage.
Deep fading: 17
24 Light fading: 24 For Ka-band, the following figure shows the link budget
results for a 45 cm user antenna with wide transponders
(208 Mbaud carrier) in three different locations in Europe
and North America. The corresponding fading attenuation
5) Cross-polarization and transponder layout values at 99.9% availability are listed in TABLE III.

The following figures describe the transponder frequency In Fig. 10 the EIRP value corresponding to 1 meter satellite
arrangements for two scenarios that are possible in broadcast antenna aperture and 130 W RF saturated power has been
satellites. The first in Fig. 8 assumes cross-polar highlighted as corresponding to a wide regional spot beam
transponders staggered in frequency by half the value of the coverage and state of the art TWTA’s in Ka-band.
transponder frequency spacing and it represents the legacy
Ku-band broadcasting satellites. The second in Fig. 9 15
foresees the cross-polar transponder at the same centre Lyon and satellite at 13 deg
Atlanta and satellite at -80 deg
frequency of the one under test. 10
Milan and satellite at 13 deg
DTH receiver dish diameter = 45 cm
Frequency = 20 GHz
TXP UNDER
POLARIZATION A ADJACENT TXP 1
TEST
ADJACENT TXP 2 Carrier symbol rate = 208 Mbaud
5 Availability = 99.9%
Carrier C/N, dB

POLARIZATION B CROSS-POL TXP 1 CROSS-POL TXP 2 0

-5
fT

-10 1 m satellite antenna diameter

Fig. 8. DTH interference for scenario 1 – staggered cross-polar 130 W RF power

transponders
-15
52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72
fP1=fT/2 fP2=fT/2 Satellite EIRP/carrier , dBW
fT fT

Fig. 10. C/N values as function of EIRP for DTH services at Ka-band
TXP UNDER
POLARIZATION A ADJACENT TXP 1 ADJACENT TXP 2
From the previous figure it can be seen that even in the case
TEST

of a large transponder bandwidth in Ka-band, the worst case

POLARIZATION B CROSS-POL TXP 1
C/N is not expected to fall below -2~-3 dB.

TABLE III. FADING ATTENUATION AT KA BAND FOR THE SELECTED

CITIES.

fP1=0 City Lyon Atlanta Milan

Fading
Fig. 9. DTH interference for scenario 1 – co-frequency cross-polar attenuation
transponders 6.4 dB 11 dB 7.8 dB
at 99.9%
availability

TABLE II. DESCRIPTION OF THE VALUES OF THE PARAMETERS TO BE

USED FOR CROSS-POLAR MODELLING IN THE TWO CROSS-POL SCENARIO.
VI. ADJACENT SATELLITE INTERFERENCE
DTH interference scenario 1 – DTH interference scenario 2 –
In addition to the interference contributors introduced in the
staggered cross-polar co-frequency cross-polar
transponders transponders
previous section, the adjacent satellite interference may
Ap1 =[ C/Icross]-1/2 Ap1 =[ C/Icross]-1/2 play in important role. This contribution can be modelled
Ap2 =[ C/Icross]-1/2 Ap2 =[ C/Icross]-1/2 following reference [4].
fp1 =-fT/2 fp1 = 0
fp2 = fT/2 fp2 =N/A

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TABLE IV. AZIMUTH POINTING ANGLE DIFFERENCES AS SEEN FROM A VII. USER TERMINAL
TYPICAL POSITION IN THE MIDDLE OF EUROPE.

Satellite Relative orbital positions A. Phase noise

(deg)
Carrier phase noise is introduced in the link by several
SAT8 +9
contributors, including the uplink ground station, the
SAT6 +6.8
SAT4 +4.3
payload and the terminal receiver. This latter is by far the
SAT2 +2.4
most predominant component due to the low-cost consumer
SAT1 0
grade quality of the equipments.
SAT3 -3.2 Several models of the composite end-to-end phase noise
SAT5 -6.2 mask have been considered. The following figure show
SAT7 -9.2 them with the legend describing the band applicability (Ku
vs. Ka) and the year of the technology (2000 vs. 2012).
The realistic interference situation is difficult to be reflected Also, the reference masks mentioned in [1] have been plot
in general terms, because it involves International for reference.
Telecommunication Union (ITU) established limits as well -20
as specific confidential bilateral agreements among satellite EN302307 typical
EN302307 critical
operators, which can change from one frequency band to -30
TM-S20102 Ku 2000
another. However, it is very reasonable to assume that most -40 TM-S20102 Ku 2012
TM-S20102 Ka 2012
of that interference limited scenarios involve a small -50
number of interferers. In particular, we can refer to the

SSB PSD, dBc/Hz

-60
scenario described by TABLE IV where we assume equal
power density limits on the different satellite positions. The -70
following figure illustrates the resulting signal to noise and -80
the signal to interference ratio for different aperture sizes.
The aggregate interference is assumed to be at its maximum -90

“worst-case” level according to existing common ITU -100

regulatory limitations. We further assume that the desired -110

signal is received from satellite SAT 1 and the dominating
interference is attributed to SAT 2. Fading due to rain (at the -120
10
2 3
10 10
4
10
5 6
10 10
7 8
10
target availability) is also assumed. Frequency, Hz

Fig. 12. Phase noise power spectral density masks for the DTH service

B. Carrier frequency instabilities

Fig. 11. Plot of the signal-to-noise (C/N), interference (C/I) and combined
C/(N+I) ratios as a function of the antenna aperture (assuming parabolic
reflectors) from [4]
From the previous figure it can be seen that for a typical
receiver antenna aperture size between 60 and 70 cm, the
C/IADJ varies between 11 and 15 dB.
If no interference mitigation techniques is assumed at the
receiver, this interference can be modelled as an additional
AWGN with the mentioned C/IADJ. If one value is to be
chosen, a C/IADJ of 14 dB can be considered a typical value.
As described in [3], the max carrier frequency instability,
mainly due to the LNB, is ±5 MHz. However, when tuning
to a different carrier, a more limited frequency errors can be
assumed, i.e. ±100 kHz. In addition, in very low cost
equipments, the LNB carrier frequency, in certain
conditions, (i.e. when illuminated by the sun) may be
subject to a time-varying frequency error with a slope up to
30 kHz/s. The demodulator has to have the capability to stay
lock in the presence of such frequency ramp.
C. Receiver Amplitude Distortions
The receiver ODU LNB and the interfacility link cable are
responsible for introducing some frequency selective
amplitude distortions to the received signal. The LNB in
particular represents a source of both gain ripple and slope.
The coax cable in turns introduces a gain slope which is
proportional to its length. However, typically the LNB
frequency response is designed to compensate the negative
gain slope caused by a ‘worst case length’ coax cable.
Depending on the model of the LNB and the length and
quality of the cable, the residual gain slope vary quite

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significantly. In the following, it will be assumed that this

variation is equivalent to ±2 dB over 500 MHz band.
The ∆ function can be modelled as a sine wave with 1.5 dB
amplitude peak-to-peak and a period of 50 MHz.

1+∆(j2πf) e-δf

LNB GAIN RIPPLE COMBINED CABLE/

LNB GAIN SLOPE
1.5 dB pp with 50 MHz ± 2 dB over 500 MHz
period i.e. δ=± 4.6x10-10

Fig. 13. Channel model for the DTH terminal amplitude gain ripple and Fig. 14. C/I due to intersymbol interference versus the carrier symbol rate
slope and roll-off.

VIII. END-TO-END LINK PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF THE MAIN
PAYLOAD IMPAIRMENTS
In this chapter we present the results of computer
simulations that have been run to assess the expected impact
that some key payload impairments cause to the end-to-end
performance. In particular, we plot the carrier-to-
interference power ratio resulting from the on-board linear,
non-linear distortions and adjacent channel interference,
versus a number of carrier symbol rate values (from
31Mbaud to 37 Mbaud) as well as signal roll-offs values
(5%, 20% and 35%). A 36 MHz transponder has been
considered. In order to better appreciate the impact of these
key payload impairments, their effects have been considered
either independently or incrementally and without any
adjacent satellite or cross-polar interference.
Fig. 15 plots instead the C/I resulting from the adjacent
carrier interference in the uplink. The non-linear distortions
as well as the adjacent transponder interference resulting at
OMUX level have not been included. Also, no power
unbalance between the central carrier and the two adjacent
carriers has been accounted for. The dependency on the roll-
off value is explained by considerations similar to the ones
stated for Fig. 14. Overall, these results show that the in the
absence of power unbalance, the adjacent carrier
interference in the uplink is never the limiting link
impairment (its C/I is at least 10 dB higher than the ISI’s).

We start with examining Fig. 14 which shows the C/I due to

the inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by the IMUX and
OMUX filters. In order to isolate the linear distortions, the
on-board HPA has been removed for this test. As shown, the
C/I degrades significantly (approximately 2 dB per Mbaud)
with the increase of the carrier symbol rate, down to a value
of about 11 dB for 37 Mbaud.
In order to understand the behavior versus the roll-off value,
two effects should be kept in mind: i) the first is the transmit
pulse shaping filter which, for these simulations, have been
truncated to an overall duration of 32 symbols; this
truncation effect generates signal spectrum sidelobes which
in turns are linearly distorted by the filters and ultimately
produce ISI; as the lower the roll-off the higher the
sidelobes, the C/I is expected to worsen at low roll-offs; ii)
the second effect is still related to the signal spectrum shape
but, as opposed to the first one, it reduces the C/I with the
increase of the roll-off due to the wider spectrum of the
signal whose tails are increasingly distorted by the filters.
Overall, the composition of these two effects results in the
curves of Fig. 15.
Fig. 15. C/I due to the uplink adjacent channel interference versus the
carrier symbol rate and roll-off.
When assuming a power umbalance of 8 dB between the
central carrier and the two adjacent carriers, the results
shown in Fig. 15 have to be shifted down by the same
amount, with the consequence that the uplink C/I begins to
impact the overall performance although only for large roll-
offs (35%) and symbol rate values (greater than 36 Mbaud).
However, these considerations may change if the terminal
receiver is equipped with an equalizer which can partially
compensate for the ISI and thus increase the relative impact
of the uplink interference.

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The next figure reports the C/I due to adjacent transponder
interference at OMUX level. The uplink interference has
also been taken into account with and without a power
unbalance, so that these results might be considered the
composite effects of the uplink and downlink adjacent
channel interference. Also, while the adjacent carriers do go
through their HPA (in order to correctly model the OMUX
adjacent channel interference), these results do assume a
linear channel on the main carrier (no HPA). However, the
ALC gain normalization at the IMUX output has been
accounted for, so that the power robbing effect due to the
presence of the uplink interference has been correctly
accounted for.
The shown result refer to a QPSK modulation with a TWTA
OBO of 0.35 dB on the adjacent carriers. However, it can be
shown that the resulting C/I does only marginally depend on
the modulation on the side carriers as long as their TWTA
OBO is set to an optimized value (for example 1.5 dB for 16
APSK).
Fig. 16. C/I due to the uplink and downlink adjacent channel interference
versus the carrier symbol rate and roll-off, with and without an uplink
power umbalance.
In Fig. 17 the simulation results for the overall C/I including
the ISI, the adjacent carrier interference in the uplink, the
non-linear distortions due to the on-board HPA as well as
the adjacent transponder interference in the OMUX, are
reported for both QPSK and 16 APSK modulations. The
additional impairment added for these results with respect to
the ones shown in the previous figures is the non-linear
distortions caused by the TWTA. By comparing with the
impact of the other impairments it seems that the dominant
one is the ISI for QPSK, while for 16 APSK the non-linear
distortions seem to have an impact at least at low symbol
rates. As already mentioned, when in the presence on an
adaptive equalizer in the user terminal receiver, the relative
weight of ISI with respect to the other impairments may
change.
978-1-4799-5893-1/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE
Fig. 17. Overall link C/I including uplink and downlink adjacent channel
interference, ISI and non-linear distortions
IX. CONCLUSIONS
This papers presents the rationales and motivations of the
channel model that has been selected by the TM-S2 WG to
carry out performance simulations of the next generation
DVB-S2X air interface for satellite broadcasting services.
The presented model is also currently being used by the WG
to fully characterize the performance of the DVB-S2X
specifications for the preparation of the Guidelines
document. In addition, the paper provides some insights on
the expected end-to-end performance degradation (in terms
of carrier-to-interference ratio) that some key payload related
-issues (on-board filters, HPA and adjacent carrier
interference) have to the end-to-end link performance.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Jens Kraus (SES), Ulrik
De Bie (Newtec), Nghia Pham (Eutelsat) and Jorge
Rodriguez López (Hispasat) for providing some key
elements of the described channel model.
REFERENCES
[1] “DVB-S2X Channel Models”, TM-S2 Channel Model group, TM-S2
technical contribution, May 2014
[2] ETSI EN 302 307 Ver. 1.2.1 (2009-08), Digital Video Broadcasting
(DVB); " Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Second generation
framing structure, channel coding and modulation systems for
Broadcasting, Interactive Services, News Gathering andother
broadband satellite applications (DVB-S2)".
[3] ETSI TR 102 376, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) “User
guidelines for the second generation system for Broadcasting,
Interactive Services, News Gathering and other broadband satellite
applications (DVB-S2)”
[4] Applicability of Interference Processing to DTH Reception, J. Grotz,
B. Ottersten, J. Krause, 9th International Workshop on Signal
Processing for Space Communications, September 2006.
[5] A. Dissanayake, “Ka-Band Propagation Modeling for Fixed Satellite
Applications”, Online Journal of Space Communication, Issue No. 2,
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