Multiple Access Techniques &

Satellite Link Design

Fundamentals
•Multiple access means access to a given facility or a
resource by multiple users.

•In the context of satellite communication, the facility is

the transponder and the multiple users are various
terrestrial terminals under the footprint of the satellite.

•The transponder provides the communication channel(s)

that receives the signals beamed at it via the uplink and
then retransmits the same back to Earth for intended
users via the downlink.
Commonly used multiple access techniques
include the following:

1. Frequency division multiple access (FDMA)

2. Time division multiple access (TDMA)
3. Code division multiple access (CDMA)
4. Space domain multiple access (SDMA)
•In Frequency division multiple access (FDMA),
different Earth stations are able to access the total
available bandwidth in the satellite transponder(s) by
virtue of their different carrier frequencies, thus
avoiding interference amongst multiple signals.

•Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) is the process

of grouping multiple base band signals into a single
signal so that it could be transmitted over a single
communication channel without the multiple base
band signals interfering with each other.
Fig: Frequency division multiplexing
Fig: Time division multiplexing
• Here, multiple base band signals modulate
different carrier frequencies called subcarrier
frequencies and the multiplexed signal then
modulates a common relatively higher frequency
carrier, which then becomes the signal to be
transmitted from the Earth station.

• Similarly, other stations may also have similar

frequency division multiplexed signals with a
different final carrier frequency.
•In the case of time division multiple access (TDMA), different
Earth stations in the satellite’s footprint make use of the
transponder by using a single carrier on a time division basis.

•The composite time multiplexed signal modulates a high

frequency carrier using any of the digital carrier modulation
techniques.

•Multiple time multiplexed signals from other stations

having the same carrier frequency are then able to access the
satellite by allowing each station to transmit during its allotted
time slot
• In the case of code division multiple access (CDMA), the
entire bandwidth of the transponder is used
simultaneously by multiple Earth stations at all times.

• Each transmitter spreads its signal over the entire

bandwidth, which is much wider than that required by
the signal.

• Interference is avoided as each transmitter uses a

unique code sequence.
Transponder Assignment Modes
• In addition to the multiple access techniques,
there are also certain transponder assignment
modes. The commonly used ones include:

1. Preassigned multiple access (PAMA)

2. Demand assigned multiple access (DAMA)
3. Random multiple access (RMA)
Preassigned multiple access (PAMA)
• The transponder is assigned to the individual user either
permanently for the satellite’s full lifetime or at least for long
durations.

• The pre assignment may be that of a certain frequency band,

time slot or a code.

• When it is used infrequently, a link set-up with preassigned

channels is not only costly to the user but the link utilization is
also not optimum.
Demand assigned multiple access (DAMA)
• This allows multiple users to share a common link wherein each
user is only required to put up a request to the control station or
agency when it requires the link to be used.

• The channel link is only completed as required and a channel

frequency is assigned from the available frequencies within the
transponder bandwidth.

• It is very cost effective for small users who have to pay for using the
transponder capacity only for the time it was actually used.
Random multiple access (RMA)
•Access to the link or the transponder is by contention.

•Due to the random nature of transmissions, data from multiple

users may collide.

•In case a collision occurs, it is detected and the data are

retransmitted.

•When all the stations are entirely independent, there is every

likelihood that the messages that collided would be separated
out in time on retransmission.
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

•Different Earth stations are able to access the total available bandwidth of
satellite transponder by virtue of their different carrier frequencies, thus
avoiding interference among multiple signals.

•The transponder receives transmissions at around 6 GHz and retransmits them

at around 4 GHz.

•Multichannel per carrier (MCPC) technique, where the Earth station frequency
multiplexes several channels into one carrier base band assembly, which then
frequency modulates an RF carrier and transmits it to an FDMA satellite
transponder.
Fig: Carrier frequencies for a C band transponder for both uplink and downlink channels
Fig: Basic concept of FDMA
•Single channel per carrier (SCPC), each signal channel modulates a separate
RF carrier, which is then transmitted to the FDMA transponder.

•The modulation technique used here could either be frequency modulation

(FM) in case of analogue transmission or phase shift keying (PSK) for digital
transmission.

•No complex timing and synchronizing techniques are required.

•The maximum number of carriers that can access the transponder is given
by (n = BTR/BC), where BTR is the total transponder bandwidth and BC is the
carrier bandwidth.
Demand Assigned FDMA
•The transponder frequency is subdivided into a number of channels
and the Earth station is assigned a channel depending upon its request
to the control station.

•Assignment may be carried out either by using the polling method or

by using the random access method.

•In the polling method, the master Earth station continuously polls all
of the Earth stations in sequence and if the request is encountered,
frequency slots are assigned to that Earth station which had made the
request.

•Delay is more so when the number of Earth stations is large.

• In the random access method, the problem of
delays does not exist.

• In the case of centrally controlled random access,

the Earth stations make requests through the
master Earth station as the need arises.

• In distributed control random access, the

control is exercised at each Earth station.
Pre-assigned FDMA

• In a preassigned FDMA system, the frequency

slots are pre-assigned to the Earth stations.

• The slot allocations are pre-determined and do

not offer flexibility. Hence, some slots may be
facing the problem of over-traffic, while other
slots are sitting idle.
Single Channel Per Carrier (SCPC) Systems - SCPC/FM/FDMA System

• Each signal channel modulates a separate RF

carrier and the modulation system used here is frequency modulation.

• The transponder bandwidth is subdivided in

such a way that each base band signal channel is allocated a separate
transponder subdivision
and an individual carrier.

• Another advantage of the SCPC/FM/FDMA system is that it facilitates

the use of voice activated carriers
Fig: Transmission path for the SCPC/FM/FDMA system
• This type of SCPC system requires automatic
frequency control to maintain spectrum
centering for individual channels, which is
usually achieved by transmitting a pilot tone in
the centre of the transponder bandwidth.

• Different base band signals frequency-modulate

their respective allocated carriers, which are
combined and then transmitted to the satellite
over the uplink.
SCPC/PSK/FDMA System
•This is the digital form of the SCPC system in which the modulation
technique used is phase
shift keying (PSK).

•SPADE (single channel per carrier PCM multiple access demand assignment
equipment) was the first operational SCPC/PSK/FDMA system.

•This system employs PCM for base band signal encoding and QPSK as the
carrier modulation technique.

•With this, it is possible to accommodate a 64 kbps voice channel in a

bandwidth of 38.4 kHz as compared to the requirement of a full 45 kHz in
the case of frequency modulation.
 Multiple Channels Per Carrier (MCPC) Systems

• Multiple signal channels are first grouped together to

form a single base band signal assembly.

• These grouped base band signals modulate

preassigned carriers which are then transmitted to the
FDMA transponder.
MCPC/FDM/FM/FDMA System
•Multiple base band signals are grouped together by using
frequency division multiplexing to form FDM base band signals.

•The FDM base band assemblies frequency modulate pre-assigned

carriers and are then transmitted to the satellite.

•The FDMA transponder receives multiple carriers, carries out

frequency translation and then separates out individual carriers
with the help of appropriate filters.

•Multiple carriers are then multiplexed and transmitted back to

Earth over the downlink. The receiving station extracts the
channels assigned to that station.
 MCPC/PCM-TDM/PSK/FDMA System
• Multiple base band signals are first digitally encoded using the
PCM technique and then grouped together to form a common
base band assembly using time division multiplexing.

• This time division multiplexed bit stream then modulates a

common RF carrier using phase shift keying as the carrier
modulation technique.

• The modulated signal is then transmitted to the satellite, which

uses FDMA to handle multiple carriers.
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
•Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a technique in which different Earth stations
use a single carrier on a time division basis.

•The traffic bursts from different Earth stations are synchronized so that all bursts
arriving at the transponder are closely spaced but do not overlap.

•The transponder works on a single burst at a time and retransmits back to Earth a
sequence of bursts.

•All Earth stations can receive the entire sequence and extract the signal of their
interest.

•The disadvantages of TDMA include a requirement for complex and expensive Earth
station equipment and stringent timing and synchronization requirements.

•TDMA is suitable for digital transmission only.

Code Division Multiple Access CDMA)
•The entire bandwidth of the transponder is used simultaneously by multiple Earth stations at
all times.

•CDMA allows multiple Earth stations to access the same carrier frequency and bandwidth at
the same time.

•Message signal is a PCM bit stream. Each message bit is combined with a predetermined code
bit sequence.

•The bit rate of the PN sequence is kept much higher than the bit rate of the message signal.

•The spread of the message signal over the entire available bandwidth of the transponder
referred to as spread spectrum multiple access (SSMA).

•The PN sequence bits are often referred to as ‘chips’ and their transmission rate as the ‘chip
rate’
DS-CDMA Transmission and Reception

Fig: Basic block schematic arrangement of the DS-CDMA transmitter

• The transmitter generates a bit stream by multiplying in the
time domain the message bit stream mi(t) and the code
information ai(t).

• If the bandwidth of the message signal is much smaller than the

bandwidth of the code signal, the product signal has a
bandwidth approaching that of the code signal.

• The receiver in this case generates a code signal ai(t)

synchronized with the received message.

•
Fig: Basic block schematic arrangement of the
DS-CDMA receiver
If the signals represented by suffix j constitute undesired
signals, i.e. noise, then the bit stream present at the output of
the first stage of the receiver and at the input of the
demodulator is given by
 Frequency Hopping CDMA (FH-CDMA) System

•The carrier is sequentially hopped into a series of frequency slots

spread over the entire bandwidth of the satellite transponder.

•The transmitter transmits a short burst of data on a narrowband,

then tunes to another frequency and transmits again.

•The transmitter thus hops its frequency over a given bandwidth

several times per second, transmitting one frequency for a certain
period of time, then hopping to another frequency and transmitting
again.

•The pseudorandom code sequence decides the instantaneous

transmission frequency.
 Fig a: Block schematic arrangement of
a typical FH-CDMA transmitter

Fig b: Block schematic arrangement of a

typical FH-CDMA receiver
 Time Hopping CDMA (TH-CDMA) System

•The pseudorandom bit sequence determines the time instant of

transmission of information.

•The signal is transmitted by the user in rapid bursts during time

intervals determined by the pseudorandom code assigned to the
user.

•A given user transmits only during one of the M time slots each
frame has been divided into.

•Since each user transmits its data only during one of the M time slots
in each frame, the bandwidth available to it increases by a factor of
M.
Fig a: Block schematic arrangement of a
typical TH-CDMA transmitter

Fig b: Block schematic arrangement

of a typical TH-CDMA receiver
Comparison of DS-CDMA, FH-CDMA and TH-
CDMA Systems
•DS-CDMA system occupies the whole of the available bandwidth when it
transmits.

•FH-CDMA system uses only a small part of the bandwidth at a given instant of
time when it transmits.

•The bandwidth occupied by an FH-CMDA signal for a given hop frequency

depends not only on the bandwidth of the message signal but also on the
shape of the hopping signal and the hopping frequency.

•In the case of time hopping CDMA (TH-CDMA) the whole of the available
bandwidth is used for short time periods instead of parts of the bandwidth
being used all the time
Frequency–time graphs of (a) DS-CDMA system (b) FH-CDMA system and (c)
TH-CDMA system
Problem
In a DS-CDMA system, the information bit rate and chip rate are
respectively 20 kbps and 20 Mbps. Determine the processing
gain in dB and also determine the noise reduction (in dB)
achievable in this system.

Solution:
Chip rate = 20 Mbps
Information bit rate = 20 kbps
Processing gain = 10 log (chip rate/information bit rate)
= 10 log (20 × 106/20 × 103) = 10 log(1000) = 30 dB
Noise reduction achievable = processing gain = 30 dB
Space Domain Multiple Access (SDMA)

•Space domain multiple access (SDMA), is a

technique that primarily allows frequency re-use where
adjacent Earth stations within the footprint of the satellite
can use the same carrier transmission frequency and still
avoid co-channel interference by using orthogonal antenna
beam polarization.

•SDMA is usually achieved in conjunction with other types of

multiple access techniques such as FDMA, TDMA and
CDMA.
Frequency Re-use in SDMA
• Beam separation is based on the fact that if two beams are
so shaped that they illuminate two different regions on the
surface of the Earth without overlapping, then the same
frequency band could be used for the two without causing
any mutual interference.

• Beam polarization, on the other hand, relies on the principle

of using two orthogonally polarized electromagnetic waves
to transmit and receive using the same frequency band with
no mutual interference between the two.
Fig: Frequency re-use using beam separation
employing(a)Two antennas and(b) Single antenna
SDMA/FDMA System
• The satellite uses fixed links toroute an incoming uplink
signal as received by a receiving antenna to a particular
downlink transmitter antenna.

• The desired fixed links can be set on board the satellite by

using some form of a switch,
which can be selected only occasionally when the satellite
needs to be reconfigured.
Fig: Typical block schematic arrangement of an SDMA/FDMA
system (DEMUX, de-multiplexer)
SDMA/TDMA System
• In conjunction with TDMA, the system allows
TDMA traffic from the uplink beams to be switched
to the downlink beams during the course of a
TDMA frame.

• The link between a certain source–

destination combination exists at a specified time
for the burst duration within the TDMA
frame.
Fig: Typical transponder arrangement for an
SDMA/SS/TDMA system