Open AccessMitigating the effects of rain‐induced fading in satellite communications systems using time diversity in concert with maximal ratio combining
Author(s) -
Uggalla Leshan,
Eastment Jon,
Otung Ifiok
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the journal of engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2051-3305
DOI - 10.1049/joe.2015.0181
Subject(s) - fading , telecommunications link , maximal ratio combining , satellite , carrier to noise ratio , broadcasting (networking) , computer science , telecommunications , bit error rate , communications satellite , time diversity , remote sensing , attenuation , environmental science , electronic engineering , signal to noise ratio (imaging) , computer network , engineering , physics , geography , optics , decoding methods , aerospace engineering
This paper reports on a preliminary study using EutelSat Hotbird 13A beacon data at 19.7 GHz and 29.5 GHz (scaled data) to evaluate the benefit of using Time Diversity (TD) and Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) on an experimental next generation Ka‐band (26.5–40 GHz) satellite link in the UK. The authors have used the 2nd generation of video broadcasting via satellite (DVB‐S2) as the broadcasting standard to investigate the novel integration of TD and MRC. The benefit of the TD and MRC scheme was quantified in terms of percentage enhancement of the link availability. Long‐term statistics of rain and atmospheric attenuation were derived from a period of three year’s measurements made in Pontypridd, South Wales and in Chilbolton, England, at 19.7 GHz. A hypothetical Ka‐band satellite broadcast link between Pontypridd and Chilbolton has been designed to use 29.5 GHz as the uplink frequency while 19.7 GHz is used as the downlink frequency. The paper discusses the performance enhancement provided by TD and MRC during different types of fading events. The integration of TD and MRC into the DVB‐S2 standard provides the capability to continue delivering services at lower carrier‐to‐noise (C/N) levels by lowering the bit error rate (BER).