Study of Rain Attenuation Calculation and Strategic Power Control for Ka-Band Satellite Communication in India

Abstract

The tremendous worldwide growth in the use of Internet and multimedia services prompted the ambitious planning for evolution of commercial and broadband satellite communication systems. The traditional C and Ku bands in satellite communications are getting crowded, So the systems are moving towards higher frequency ranges above 20 GHz. The Ka-band (18-40 GHz) frequency spectrum has gained attention for satellite communication. The inherent drawback of Ka-band satellite system is that increase in signal distortion resulting from propagation effects. Atmospheric attenuation in Ka-band is always severe, especially in the presence of rain. Thus, New technologies are required for Ka-band systems, such as multiple hopping antenna beams and regenerative transponders to support aggregate data rates in the range of 1 - 20 Gbps per satellite, which can provide DTH, HDTV, mobile and fixed Internet users with broadband connection. Currently in India C and Ku-band frequencies are being used for commercial satellite communications. In future Ka-band will be used for wideband applications. Keeping in view of the socio-economic and geographical diversities of India. Propagation studies are essential for estimation of attenuation, so that Ka-band satellite links operating in different parts of Indian region can be registered appropriately. Ka-band system is recognized as a new generation in communication satellites that encompasses a number of innovative technologies such as on board processing (OBP) for multimedia applications and switching to provide two way services to and from small ground terminals. To do this efficiently multiple pencil like spot beams are used. One distinct feature of this propagation being used to address this problem is Satellite Spot-Beam. To design effective satellite communication system, the arrangement of spot beam locations in Indian subcontinent, the study and analysis of link availability for Kaband satellite communication in various geographically separated spot beams in India using statistical data is necessary. Based on global rain models integrated with the link budget, the study allows us to examine major system design issues encountered in Ka-band satellite communication that are susceptible to propagation impairments. This system can be flexible enough to increase power on specific transmissions to compensate for local weather conditions. This can make better use of the available bandwidth than C or Ku-band satellite, and more users can get higher level of services.