End-to-end Precoding Validation over a Live GEO Satellite Forward Link

In this paper we demonstrate end-to-end precoded multi-user multiple-input singleoutput
(MU-MISO) communications over a live GEO satellite link. Precoded communications enable
full frequency reuse (FFR) schemes in satellite communications (SATCOM) to achieve broader service
availability and higher spectrum efficiency than with the conventional four-color (4CR) and twocolor
(2CR) reuse approaches. In this scope, we develop an over-the-air test-bed for end-to-end
precoding validations.We use an actual multi-beam satellite to transmit and receive precoded signals
using the DVB-S2X standard based gateway and user terminals. The developed system is capable
of end-to-end real-time communications over the satellite link including channel measurements and
precompensation. It is shown, that by successfully canceling inter-user interference in the actual
satellite FFR link precoding brings gains in terms of enhanced SINR and increased system goodput.