Overview

Definition
 VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) are small fixed satellite antennas
that provide highly reliable communication means for data, voice and fax
between almost any number of geographically dispersed sites.
 A very small aperture terminal (VSAT) is a device - known as an earth
station - that is used to receive satellite transmissions. The "very small"
component of the VSAT acronym refers to the size of the VSAT dish
antenna -typically about 2 to 4 feet (0.55-1.2 m) in diameter- that is
mounted on a roof on a wall, or placed on the ground
Overview

VSAT Advantage
 Cost-effective
 Easy Installation
 Centralized Network Management
 Satellite can deploy relatively fast to provide connectivity and
coverage over a wide area
 Coverage of rural and undeveloped region
 Relative high data rate directly to user anywhere within the network
 Broadcast/unicast/multicast capability
 VSAT network interface with any type of communication network
nodes, including PSTN, public exchange, cellular telephone system
Overview

VSAT Disadvantage
 Latency, about 250 ms on single hop
 Security, since satellite signals are broadcasted. Solved by using
sophisticated encryption technique or coding.
 Fading, satellite signals operating at certain frequency ( such as
Ku or Ka band) are susceptible to signal weakening due to bad
weather like rain or fog
 Interference, Network operating at C-band are susceptible to
terrestrial microwave signals.
Overview

When VSAT is Needed?

 When uniquely VSAT make it attractive
 When the cost lower that Terrestrial
 When it is the only solution

For Example :
 TV Broadcast
 Offshore Communication
 Automatic Teller Machine
 Rural Communication
Technology

VSAT Technology
 Access Method :
 Digunakan untuk memaksimalkan penggunaan dari satelit dan
elemen- elemen komunikasi satelit lainnya
 Metode yang umum digunakan
 FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access)
 TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
 CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access )
 Network Topologies :
Typical VSAT configuration :
 Point to Point vs. Point to Multipoint Transmission
 Star, Mesh and Hub and Spoke Topology
 Dedicated Carrier vs. Shared Carrier
Technology

FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access)

 Method in transponder sharing resource in with specific frequency in each
carrier
 E.g. VSAT SCPC
Technology

TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)

 Method in transponder sharing resource in same frequency at different time
 E.g. VSAT IP
Technology

Point to Point vs. Point to Multipoint

Technology

Star Topology
Technology

Mesh Topology
Technology

Hub and Spoke Topology

Satellite Communication

Satellite Communication consist of :

 Space Segment

 Ground Segment
Satellite Communication

Space Segment
 Satellite system consist basically of satellite in space which links many
earth stations on ground
 Satellite can be though of as a large active repeater in space
 Satellite Orbital Type :
 LEO (Low Earth Orbit) : 500 to 900 km
(Need constellation for continous service)
 MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) : 5.000 to 1.200 km
(Need constellation for continous service)
 GEO (Geostationery Orbit) : 36.000 km
(Perfectly circullar and lies in the plane of equator)
Satellite Communication
Space Segment

Satellite Orbital
Satellite Communication
Space Segment

GEO Satellite Advantage

 The satellite remain stationary with respect to one point on earth, there
for the earth station antenna is not required to track the satellite
periodically
 With minimum 50 elevation angle of the earth station antenna, the
GEO satellite can cover almost 38 % of the surface of earth
 The doppler shift caused by satellite drifting in orbit ( because of
gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun) is small for all earth
station within satellite coverage. This is desirable for synchronous
digital system.
Satellite Communication
Space Segment

Satellite Frequency Spectrum

The spectrum allocations are given in the following approximate range, as
practiced in the satellite industry :
 L-Band : 1 – 2 GHz
 S-Band : 2.4 – 2.8 GHz
 C-Band : 3.4 – 7.0 GHz
 X-Band : 7.9 – 9.0 GHz
 Ku-Band : 10.7 – 15.0 GHz
 Ka-Band : 18.0 – 31.0 GHz
 Q-Band : 40 – 50 GHz
 V-Band : 60 – 80 GHz
Satellite Communication
Space Segment

C-Band, Extended C-Band, Ku-Band

 Frequency range C-Band :
Freq Downlink = 3700 MHz – 4200 MHz
Freq Uplink = Freq Downlink +2225
Bandwidth = 500 MHz
Example : Palapa C2 , Telkom 1, Agilla 2
Frequency Satelite Extended C-Band :
Freq Downlink start at 3400 MHz
Freq Uplink = Frek Downlink +2225
Example Satelite : Apstar5
Ku-Band Frequency :
Down Link :11.700 – 11.950 MHz
Up Link: 13.750 – 14.500 MHz
11.950 – 12.200 MHz
12.500 – 12.750 MHz
Very affected by climate (rain)
Satellite Communication
Space Segment

Transponder
 To increase information capacity carried by satellite, in term of
bandwidth in Hz, satellite divided into several channels, name
transponder, using frequency reuse.

 Transponder function is as repeater

 One method of obtaining frequency reuse is to transmit two signals on

the same frequency band (co channel) by placing each on orthogonal
polarization.
Satellite Communication
Space Segment

Typical C-Band Transponder

UPLINK STANDARD C-BAND CHANNELS :

DOWNLINK STANDARD C-BAND CHANNELS :

Satellite Communication

Ground Segment
Basically Ground Segment can divided into two part :
 RF Terminal : UP/DOWN Converter, High Power Amplifier, Low Noise
Amplifier and Antenna
 Base band Terminal : encoder/decoder and modulator/demodulator
 Ground Segment Block Diagram :

HPA : High Power Amplifier

LNA : Low Noise Amplifier
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Antenna
 To Amplify the signal from/to satellite
 Antenna parts :
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Antenna Types

Prime Focus Antenna Offset Antenna

Cassegrain Antenna
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Prime Focus Antenna

 Mempunyai feeder di titik pusat dari parabola
 Biasanya diterapkan pada antena dengan diameter sedang : 3.4m,
3,7m
 Product : Prodelin, MP dll
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Offset Antenna
 Feeder terletak di ujung sisi antena
 Biasanya diterapkan pada antena dengan diameter kecil : 1.8m, 2.4m
 Product : Prodelin, Patriot, Andrew dll
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Cassegrain Antenna
 Mempunyai 2 reflektor, main
reflektor dan sub reflektor yang
berbentuk hiperbola
 Biasanya digunakan untuk Hub
Station
 Mudah operasional dan
maintenance
 Efisiensi tinggi
 Product : Suman, Scientific
Atlanta, Andrew, NWIEE dll
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Antenna Pointing
 Azimuth : to align antenna with satellite in horizontal direction
 Elevation : to align antenna with satellite in vertical direction
 Polarization : to match with transponder that will be used
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Cross Polarization (Crosspoll)

 Needed to make sure the antenna is aligned to the corresponding
satellite and does not interfere channels in the other polarization (e.g.
horizontal to vertical or vice versa)

 Guided by the satellite operator we can perform a crosspoll test

 The result of this test must fill a value called Crosspolarization

Insulation (CPI)

 The minimum value for CPI is 30 dB

Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

CPI Test Result

Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Power Amplifier
 Transmit Power Amplifier

 Low Power Aplication : SSPA (Solid State Amplifier)

 High Power Aplication : HPA (High Power Amplifier), TWTA

(Travelling Wave Tube Amp)

 Receive Power Amplifier

 LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) : to amplify the signal from satellite

 LNB (Low Noise Block) : to amplify the signal from satellite and
convert it to L-Band frquency
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Converter
 Up Converter

Accepts the modulated IF carriers from modem and

translate its intermediate frequency (IF) to the up link RF
frequency of the satellite

 Down Converter

Receive the modulated RF carriers from the LNA and

translate its down link RF frequency to the intermediate
frequency (IF)
Satellite Communication
Ground Segment

Satellite Modem
 Modulate baseband signal into intermediate frequency spectrum,
and demodulate intermediate frequency signal to baseband signal.

 Provide error correction, forward error correction, with proper

coding process, e.g : convolution coding ( viterby, sequencial), reed
solomon, turbo codec. “ Concetenated ” : place two codec in series
to improve performance, Eb/No, and efficient bandwidth utilization,
less bandwidth required.

 Interfacing with any terrestrial equipment or data terminal

equipment using standard data interface, e.g : V.35/RS 422, RS
485, G.703.
Outage in Satellite Communication

Sun Outage
 Energy of the Sun overpower signal to the satellite
Outage in Satellite Communication

Teresterial Interference
Outage in Satellite Communication

Adjacent Satellite Interference

VSAT Glossary

 Azimuth
The angle between an antenna beam and the meridian plane, measured along a
horizontal plane.

 Attenuation
The loss in power of electromagnetic signals between transmission and reception
points.

 Bandwidth
The range of frequencies utilized for the transmission of a signal or group of inter-
related signals expressed in Hertz (Hz).

 Base band
A video or audio signal transmitted at its original frequency.

 BER (Bit Error Rate)

The percentage of received bits that are in error during transmission; expressed as a
number referenced to a power of ten.
VSAT Glossary

 Beam width
The angular coverage of an antenna beam. Earth station beams are usually specified
at the half-power (or -3 dB) point. Satellite beams are based on the area to be
covered.

 Carrier
A continuous frequency capable of being modulated with a second data-carrying
signal.

 C/N (Carrier-to-Noise Ratio)

Refers to the ratio of the satellite carrier (or signal) to noise level in a given channel.
Usually measured in dB at the LNA output.

 CW (Continues Wave/pure carrier)

Refers to pure signal without carrying data

 dB
Decibel. A unit of signal measurement that expresses a ratio between two electrical
signals or levels logarithmically.
VSAT Glossary

 dBW
An expression of power in dB relative to one watt.

 Downlink
Transmission of information from a satellite to earth for reception by earth stations.

 Eb/No
This is classically defined as the ratio of Energy per Bit (Eb) to the Spectral Noise
Density (No). It is a measure of signal to noise ratio for a digital communication
system. It is measured at the input to the receiver and is used as the basic measure
of how strong the signal is.

 FEC (Forward Error Correction)

A technique that ensures the transmitted message is received at the receiving end
without error.

 Gain
Increased signal power usually the result of amplification; measured in decibels.
VSAT Glossary

 G/T (Gain-to-Noise Temperature)

Ratio of the gain of an antenna compared to the receive system noise temperature;
expressed in dB per degree K.

 Hub
The central earth station satellite transmission facility that is the focal point for
communicating to remote locations within a satellite communications network.

 IF (Intermediate Frequency)
The frequency of a satellite receiver after down conversion or a satellite modulator
before up conversion.

 IFL (Interfacility Link)

A cable that provides communication between the ODU and IDU.

 LNA (Low Noise Amplifier)

Equipment that receives the satellite signal reflected by the antenna and amplifies it
to the level needed by the satellite receiving equipment.
VSAT Glossary

 LNB (Low Noise Block Down converter)

Satellite receiving equipment that converts all signals from the LNA to the lower IF
frequencies.

 MTTR (Mean Time To Respond)

Average time taken to arrive on site to correct a fault in a system or component.

 Redundancy
A secondary system of backup equipment that performs similarly to a primary
system, thereby preventing network downtime and system outages.

 SCPC
Single Channel Per Carrier.

 S/N (Signal-to-Noise Ratio)

Relative power of the signal to the noise in a channel.
VSAT Glossary

 SSPA (Solid-State Power Amplifier)

A lower powered transmitter used for amplification of RF signals at a remote site.

 Uplink
Transmission of information from an earth station to a geostationary communications
satellite.
VSAT Glossary