CHAPTER 4: SATELLITE

COMMUNICATIONS

Wireless Communication and

Mobile
Computing
 Introduction
2

Satellite: “a moon, planet or machine that orbits a

planet or star. … Usually, the word ‘satellite’ refers to a
machine that is launched into space and moves
around Earth or another body in space.” NASA
Natural vs. artificial satellites
Natural: Moon, Earth and all other planets, …
Artificial: Man made satellites orbiting the earth, the moon
and other celestial bodies.
Communication satellite:
a satellite placed in orbit round the Earth or other
celestial bodies in order to relay television, radio, telephone
or any relevant communication signal.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 How do Satellites
3 Work?
Two Stations on Earth want to communicate
through radio broadcast but are too far away to use
conventional means.
The two stations can use a satellite as a relay
station for their communication
One Earth Station sends a transmission to the
satellite. This is called a Uplink.
The satellite Transponder converts the signal
and sends it down to the second earth station.
This is called a Downlink.
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Advantages of Satellites
4

The advantages of satellite communication over

terrestrial communication are:
The coverage area of a satellite greatly exceeds that
of a terrestrial system.
Transmission cost of a satellite is independent of the
distance from the center of the coverage area.
Satellite to Satellite communication is very precise.
Higher Bandwidths are available for use.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Advantages of Satellites
4

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Application
5 s
Traditionally
weather satellites
radio and TV broadcast satellites
military satellites
satellites for navigation and localization (e.g., GPS)
Telecommunication
global telephone connections
backbone for global networks replaced by fiber optics
connections for communication in remote places or
underdeveloped areas
global mobile communication
Satellite systems to extend cellular phone systems (e.g., GSM)

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Classica satellite system
6
l s
Inter Satellite Link (ISL)
Mobile User
Link (MUL) MUL
Gateway
Link GWL
(GWL)

small cells
(spotbeams)

base station
or gateway
footprint

ISD PST GSM

PSTN: Public N N
Switched
Telephone Network User data

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Satellite Orbit
7 Basics
Elliptical or circular orbits
Complete rotation time depends on distance satellite-earth
Inclination: angle between orbit and equator
Elevation: angle between satellite and horizon
LOS (Line of Sight) to the satellite necessary for connection
High elevation needed, less absorption due to e.g. buildings
Uplink: connection base station - satellite
Downlink: connection satellite - base station
Typically separated frequencies for uplink and downlink
Transponder used for sending/receiving and shifting of
frequencies
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Satellite orbit
8

Satellite

Earth

Perigee Apogee
Foci

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Inclinatio
9 n plane of satellite orbit

satellite orbit

Satellite
d

inclination d

equatorial plane

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Elevation
10

Elevation:
angle e between center of satellite beam
and surface

minimal elevation:
elevation needed at least e
to communicate with the
satellite

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Effects of elevation angle
11

Affects the satellites coverage area.

Ideally, you want a elevation angle of 0 degrees, so
the transmission beam reaches the horizon visible to
the satellite in all directions.
However, because of environmental factors like:
objects blocking the transmission,
atmospheric attenuation, and
the earth electrical background noise,
there is a minimum elevation angle of earth
stations.
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Atmospheric attenuation
12 Attenuation of
the signal in % Example: satellite systems at 4-6 GHz

50

40 rain absorption

30
fog absorption
e

20

10
atmospheric
absorption

5° 10° 20° 30° 40° 50°

elevation of the satellite
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Satellite period and orbits
13

24
satellite
20
velocity [ x1000 km/h] period [h]

16

12

4
synchronous distance
35,786 km

10 20 30 40 x106 m
radius
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Favorable satellite orbits
14

Three major types of LEO

(Globalstar,
GEO (Inmarsat) MEO
(ICO)
satellite orbits can be Irdium)

identified:
LEO (Low Earth
Orbit):
500 - 1500 km
MEO (Medium Earth earth
Orbit) or ICO 1000
(Intermediate Circular 10000
Orbit): 6000 - 36000
km
GEO: geostationary 35768 km

orbit, 36000 km above

earth surface
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Favorable satellite orbits
15

Circular Low Earth Orbits (LEO):

500 – 1500 Km above surface of the earth.
The delay for data is relatively low (approx 10 ms) which is comparable
to long-distance wired connections.
Have relatively shorter period that is 95 to 120 minutes.
Each LEO satellite will only be visible from the earth for around
10 minutes.
Have smaller footprints which allows better frequency reuse.
Need for many satellites (50–200 or even more ) for global coverage.
The large number combined with the fast movements results in
complex system.
need for routing of data packets from satellite to satellite if a user wants
uninterrupted communication.
Short lifetime (about 5 – 8 years) due to atmospheric drag.
Mainly used in remote sensing and mobile communication services.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Favorable satellite orbits
16

Circular Medium Earth Orbits (MEO):

Also called intermediate circular orbits (ICO).
1,500 – 36,000 Km above surface of the earth
At around 10,000 km, satellite periods are about six hours.
Require less number of satellites than GEO (around 12 at an
altitude of 10,000) for global coverage.
Move more slowly relative to the earth’s rotation allowing a
simpler system design.
Can cover larger populations, so requiring fewer handovers.
Due to the larger distance to the earth, delay increases to about
70–80 ms.
Need higher transmit power and special antennas for smaller
footprints.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Favorable satellite orbits
17

Geostationary or geosynchronous earth orbit

(GEO)
Placed 37,786 Km (approximated to 36,000 Km) above
the surface of the earth.
Travel in the rotational speed of earth, and in the same
direction of motion of earth.
They are synchronous with respect to earth, that is looking
from a fixed point from Earth, these satellites appear to be
stationary.
Fixed antenna positions, no adjusting necessary
Their footprint is almost 1/3 rd of the Earth, hence
only three satellites are sufficient to provide
connection throughout the surface of the Earth.
Relatively large lifetime: 15 years
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Favorable satellite orbits
18

Drawbacks of GEO satellites:

The transmit power needed is relatively high.
Cannot be used for small mobile phones.
The biggest problem for voice and also data
communication is the high latency as without having any
handovers, the signal has to at least travel 72,000 kms
resulting a latency of around 240 ms.
Due to the large footprint, either frequencies cannot be
reused or the GEO satellite needs special antennas focusing
on a smaller footprint.
Transferring a GEO into orbit is very expensive.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Favorable satellite orbits
19

GEO satellites are commonly used for

TV and radio broadcast,
Weather forecast
Backbones for the telephone networks.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

20 Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Standards and regulations
21

Allocation of frequencies to satellite services

requires international coordination and planning.
This is done as per the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN body.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Standards and regulations
22
Designation Frequency
(GHz)
VHF 0.1-0.3
UHF 0.3-1.0
L-band 1.0-2.0
S-band 2.0-4.0
C-band 4.0-8.0
X-band 8.0-12.0
ITU Ku-Band 12.0-18.0
Frequency
Ka-band 18.0-27.0
Band
Designations V-band 40.0-75.0
W-band 75-110
mm-band 110-300
μm-band 300-3000
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Some notable satellite applications
23

Weather condition observation, monitoring and

forecasting
Radio and TV Broadcast
Military Satellites: gathering intelligence,
military communication, or as a military weapon
Navigation Satellites: GPS, Galileo, …
Global Telephony

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

Some notable satellite
applications
24

Wireless communication and Mobile

SATELLITE ACCESS NETWORK
( VSAT TECHNOLOGY)
 What is VSAT
26 ?
VSAT: Very Small Aperture Terminal.
A small satellite dish that is capable of both
receiving and sending satellite signals.
VSAT systems can be designed to serve both
broadcast and interactive applications whether:
Data,
Voice or
Video

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 VSAT
27 features
highly reliable,
flexible support of integrated multimedia
communications.
Compared to alternative technologies, VSAT offers:
Star network topology
Full mesh connectivity
Bandwidth-on-Demand
Scalability of network capacity
Modularity and open system architecture
Economics of statistical multiplexing
Network Management and Control
Cost effective solution
Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing
 Why
28 VSAT?
The dish is small,
Easily transportable
Installation lead-time
Allows rapid, low-cost network re-configuration
and expansion.
Uses C-band satellite frequency and
VSAT offers a wide of protocols and features,
providing extraordinary flexibility and virtually
unlimited expansion capabilities.
Typically engineered to achieve a minimum of
99.7% end-to-end availability for all locations

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 VSAT
29 applications
Private-Line Voice
Virtual Private
Networks
Distance Education
High Speed Internet
Access

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 VSAT
30 Direct
A communication network that provides on-demand data,
voice and fax
to remote locations
Flexible multi-channel communications for
Public,
corporate and
government applications.
Bandwidth: 9.6 kbps up to 2048 kbps duplex.
Point-to-point or mesh architecture is useful for providing
inter- connectivity amongst relatively high volume VSATs
utilization.
It supports connection on demand between any pairs or terminals in
the system

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 VSAT
31 Reachability
National and regional telecommunications needs.
Served from small parabolic dishes
(1.8m/2.4m/3.8m)
Access to the satellite directly from the
customer premises.
Capability to reach out to challenging areas.
Can also serve as part of company's network
diversity.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Benefits VSA
32 of T
Across border - Wide area coverage.
Reachable to remote areas.
Rapid deployment for new sites.
Also rapid commissioning of new sites within
an existing network
Cost effective - distance independent pricing.
Flexibility and efficiency - Network configuration
changes such as bandwidth, interfaces, data rates,
etc. can be performed remotely from the central
network management system.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing

 Benefits VSA
33 of T
Independent of terrestrial infrastructures.
Simplicity - quick deployment.
Reliability and Availability - 99.7% availability at
a BER of 10-7.
No local loop issues - VSAT is installed directly
on the customer's site, no terrestrial backhaul
costs, inflexibility with increasing bandwidth,
terrestrial link availability etc.

Wireless Communication and Mobile Computing