Coverage Extension via Side-Lobe Transmission in Multibeam Satellite System

in 23rd Ka and Broadband Communications Conference (2017, October 16)

In this paper, we study feasibility of coverage extension of a multibeam satellite network by providing low-rate communications to terminals located outside the coverage of main beams. Focusing on the MEO ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we study feasibility of coverage extension of a multibeam satellite network by providing low-rate communications to terminals located outside the coverage of main beams. Focusing on the MEO satellite network, and using realistic link budgets from O3b networks, we investigate the performance of both forward and return-links for terminals stationed in the side lobes of the main beams. Particularly, multi-carrier transmission for forward-link and single carrier transmission for return-link are examined and the resulting coverage and data rate for different setups are evaluated. Simulation results verifies that side-lobe transmission can extend the coverage area and provide considerable data rate, thereby providing a solution for enhancing capacity of existing networks. [less ▲]

Max-min transmit beamforming via iterative regularization

in 50th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers, November 2016 (2016, November)

This paper introduces an iterative optimization framework to tackle the multi-group multicast Max-Min transmit beamforming problem. In each iteration, the optimization problem is decomposed into four sub ... [more ▼]

This paper introduces an iterative optimization framework to tackle the multi-group multicast Max-Min transmit beamforming problem. In each iteration, the optimization problem is decomposed into four sub-problems, all of which can be solved using computationally efficient algorithms. The advantage of proposed method lies in its ability to handle different types of signal constraints like total power and unimodularity; a feature not exhibited by other techniques. The proposed technique outperforms the well-known semidefinite relaxation method in terms of quality of solutions [less ▲]

TRANSMISSION OPTIMIZATION FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT SATELLITE SYSTEMS

Doctoral thesis (2016)

Demands on broadband data service are increasing dramatically each year. Following terrestrial trends, satellite communication systems have moved from the traditional TV broadcasting to provide ... [more ▼]

Demands on broadband data service are increasing dramatically each year. Following terrestrial trends, satellite communication systems have moved from the traditional TV broadcasting to provide interactive broadband services even to urban users. While cellular and land-line networks are mainly designed to deliver broadband services to metropolitan and large urban centers, satellite based solutions have the advantage of covering these demands over a wide geography including rural and remote users. However, to stay competitive with economical terrestrial solutions, it is necessary to reduce the cost per transmitted bit by increasing the capacity of the satellite systems. The objective of this thesis is to design and develop techniques capable of enhancing the capacity of next generation high throughput satellite systems. Specifically, the thesis focuses on three main topics: 1) Q/V band feeder link design, 2) robust precoding design for multibeam satellite systems, and 3) developing techniques for tackling related optimization problems. Design of high bandwidth and reliable feeder links is central towards provisioning new services on the user link of a multibeam SatCom system. Towards this, utilization of the Q/V band and an exploitation of multiple gateway as a transmit diversity measure for overcoming severe propagation effects are being considered. In this context, the thesis deals with the design of a feeder link comprising N + P gateways (N active and P redundant gateways). Towards satisfying the desired availability, a novel switching scheme is analyzed and practical aspects such as prediction based switching and switching rate are discussed. Building on this result, an analysis for the N + P scenario leading to a quantification of the end-to-end performance is provided. On the other hand, frequency reuse in multibeam satellite systems along with precoding techniques can increase the capacity at the user link. Similar to terrestrial communication channels, satellite based communication channels are time-varying and for typical precoding applications, the transmitter needs to know the channel state information (CSI) of the downlink channel. Due to fluctuations of the phase components, the channel is time-varying resulting in outdated CSI at the transmitter because of the long round trip delay. This thesis studies a robust precoder design framework considering requirements on availability and average signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR). Probabilistic and expectation based approaches are used to formulate the design criteria which are solved using convex optimization tools. The performance of the resulting precoder is evaluated through extensive simulations. Although a satellite channel is considered, the presented analysis is valid for any vector channel with phase uncertainty. In general, the precoder design problem can be cast as power minimization problem or max-min fairness problem depending on the objectives and requirements of design. The power minimization problem can typically be formulated as a non-convex quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) problem and the max-min fairness problem as a fractional quadratic program. These problems are known to be NP-hard in general. In this thesis, the original design problem is transformed to an unconstrained optimizationproblem using the specialized penalty terms. The efficient iterative optimization frameworks are proposed based on a separate optimization of the penalized objective function over its partition of variables at each iteration. Various aspects of the proposed approach including performance of the algorithm and its implementation complexity are studied. This thesis is made under joint supervision agreement between KTH Royal Institute of Technology, School of Electrical Engineering, Stockholm, Sweden and University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg. [less ▲]

Precoding Design and User Selection for Multibeam Satellite Channels

in 16th IEEE International Workshop on Signal Processing Advances in Wireless Communications, SPAWC 2015 (2015, June 28)

Precoding for the downlink of a multibeam satellite system has been recently shown, under ideal conditions, to be promising technique towards employing aggressive frequency reuse gainfully. However, time ... [more ▼]

Precoding for the downlink of a multibeam satellite system has been recently shown, under ideal conditions, to be promising technique towards employing aggressive frequency reuse gainfully. However, time varying phase uncertainties imposed by the components and the channel, combined with delayed feedback perturbs the channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT). In this paper, we consider a power constrained robust formulation of the downlink precoding problem to counter the phase uncertainties. In particular it considers imposing conditions on the average signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), to deal with imperfect CSIT. In addition to the robust formulation, the primacy of user selection is highlighted and a new approach exploiting the satellite system design is proposed. Performance of the derived robust precoder in conjunction with the proposed location based user selection is then evaluated and the gains are tabulated. [less ▲]

Robust Precoding Design for Multibeam Downlink Satellite Channel with Phase Uncertainty

in 40th IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP) 2015 (2015, April 19)

In this work, we study the design of a precoder on the user downlink of a multibeam satellite channel. The variations in channel due to phase noise introduced by on-board oscillators and the long round ... [more ▼]

In this work, we study the design of a precoder on the user downlink of a multibeam satellite channel. The variations in channel due to phase noise introduced by on-board oscillators and the long round trip delay result in outdated channel information at the transmitter. The phase uncertainty is modelled and a robust design framework is formulated based on availability and power constraints. The optimization problem is cast into the convex paradigm after approximations and the benefits of the resulting precoder are highlighted. [less ▲]

Spatial Multiplexing in Optical Feeder Links for High Throughput Satellites

in Spatial Multiplexing in Optical Feeder Links for High Throughput Satellites (2014, December 02)

Optical feeder links are an attractive alternative to the RF feeder links in satellite communications (SatCom). In this paper, we present initial results from an optical feeder link study. We discuss the ... [more ▼]

Optical feeder links are an attractive alternative to the RF feeder links in satellite communications (SatCom). In this paper, we present initial results from an optical feeder link study. We discuss the architecture of a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite system based on optical feeder links. To mitigate the effects of cloud coverage, which is the main availability-limiting factor, Optical Ground Station (OGS) diversity is employed. Moreover, a spatial multiplexing scheme is considered. Assuming an ON-OFF channel model, the number of required OGSs to ensure availability and throughput requirements is analyzed [less ▲]

Gateway Switching in Q/V Band Satellite Feeder Links

in IEEE Communications Letters (2013), 17(7), 1384-1387

A main challenge towards realizing the next generation Terabit/s broadband satellite communications (SatCom) is the limited spectrum available in the Ka band. An attractive solution is to move the feeder ... [more ▼]

A main challenge towards realizing the next generation Terabit/s broadband satellite communications (SatCom) is the limited spectrum available in the Ka band. An attractive solution is to move the feeder link to the higher Q/V band, where more spectrum is available. When utilizing the Q/V band, due to heavy rain attenuation, gateway diversity is considered a necessity to ensure the required feeder link availability. Although receive site diversity has been studied in the past for SatCom, there is much less maturity in terms of transmit diversity techniques. In this paper, a modified switch and stay combining scheme is proposed for a Q/V band feeder link, but its performance is also evaluated over an end-to-end satellite link. The proposed scheme is pragmatic and has close to optimal performance with notably lower complexity. [less ▲]