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VSAT
A Satellite Communication System
• Advantages of VSATs 9
• VSAT’s Strengths 12
• VSAT’s Drawbacks 13
• VSAT in India 13
• Conclusion 17
• References 17
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A brief history of space communication
The idea of radio transmission through space was first conceived in 1911.The
concept of the geostationary orbit was originated by Russian theorist
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who wrote articles on space travel at the turn of the
century In the 1920s, Hermann Oberth and Herman Potocnik, aka Herman
Noordung described an orbit at an altitude of 35,900 kilometers whose
period exactly matched the Earth's rotational period, making it appear to
hover over a fixed point on the Earth's equator. In 1945 British author-
scientist Arthur C Clarke suggested the use of a geosynchronous earth
satellite for the purpose.Arthur C. Clarke contributed to the understanding of
satellites through an article published in Wireless World in October 1945
titled "Extra-Terrestrial Relays: Can Rocket Stations Give World-wide Radio
Coverage?". In this article, Clarke not only determines the orbital
characteristics necessary for a geostationary orbit, but also discusses the
frequencies and power needed for communications. His assumption of a
manned space station was later revised by a US engineer, J R Pierce, in April
1955, who was also the first one to analyze unmanned communication
satellites. This idea later led to the great success of satellite
communications.
The first artificial satellite "SPUTNIK I" was launched by the erstwhile USSR,
in 1957. This began a series of space initiatives by USA and USSR. The first
satellite communication experiment was the US government's project SCORE
(Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), which launched a
satellite on December 18, 1958. This satellite circled the earth in an elliptical
orbit and retransmitted messages recorded on a magnetic tape. It lasted for
about 13 days after which the batteries ran out!!The US Army Signal Corp's
Courier IB, launched in October 1960, lasted for about 17 days. It could
handle typewriter data and voice and facsimile messages. It was a balloon,
Echo 1, launched in August 1960, which led American Telephone &
Telegraph Company (AT&T) to build Telstar. Communication tests carried out
by reflecting radio signals from Echo 1's surface were completely successful.
Telstar, launched on July 1962 was the first active satellite with a microwave
receiver and transmitter to transmit live television and telephone
conversations across the Atlantic. It was turned off in February 1963.
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Successive initiatives include NASA's Relay 1 satellite was launched in
elliptical orbit in December 1962 and Syncom 2, the first synchronous
communication satellite was launched in July 1963.Live satellite
communication was developed in the sixties by NASA, named Syncom 1-3. It
transmitted live coverage of the 1964 Olympics in Japan to viewers in the US
and Europe. Soon after, on April 6, 1965 the first commercial satellite was
launched into space, Intelsat I, nicknamed 'Early Bird' In 1964 a global
initiative was undertaken leading to the formation of INTELSAT, which has
been one of the major driving forces for the large scale commercial
exploitation of satellite technology for communications
VSAT-Introduction
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• These VSATs’ primary job is accessing the satellites in the
geosynchronous orbit and relaying data from terminals in earth to
other terminals and hubs.
• They will often transmit narrowband data, such as the transactions of
credit cards, polling, RFID (radio frequency identification) data,
and SCADA(Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), or broadband
data, such as satellite Internet, VoIP, and videos. However, the VSAT
technology is also used for various types of communications.
• Equatorial Communications first used the spread spectrum technology
to commercialize the VSATs, which were at the time C band (6 GHz)
receive only system. This commercialization led to over 30,000 sales of
the 60 cm antenna systems in the early 1980s.Equatorial
Communications sold about 10,000 more units from 1984 to 1985 by
developing a C band (4 and 6 GHz) two way system with 1 m x 0.5 m
dimensions.
• In 1985, the current world’s most used VSATs, the Ku band (12 to 14
GHz) was co-developed by Schlumberger Oilfield Research and Hughes
Aerospace. It is primarily used to provide portable network connection
for exploration units, particularly doing oil field drilling.
• VSATs access satellites in geosynchronous orbit to relay data from
small remote earth stations (terminals) to other terminals
(in mesh configurations) or master earth station "hubs" (in star
configurations).
• VSAT is a secure and reliable medium to connect geographically
dispersed locations. In a situation where other connectivity options are
not feasible, VSAT offers two distant advantages: less deployment time
and easy manageability
• VSAT networks offer value-added satellite-based services capable of
supporting the Internet, data, LAN, voice/fax communications, and can
provide powerful, dependable, private and public network
communications solutions. A VSAT has certain clear advantages over
leased lines and other wireless communications media
• VSATs are most commonly used to transmit narrowband data (point of
sale transactions such as credit card, polling or RFID data; or SCADA),
or broadbanddata (for the provision of Satellite Internet access to
remote locations, VoIP or video). VSATs are also used for transportable,
on-the-move (utilising phase array antennas) or
mobile maritime communications
• Ku Band VSAT offer value added satellite based services capable of
supporting- Broadband internet access, VOIP, video conferencing, IP
multicast, Local Area Network, voice, Fax and can also provide
powerful dependable private communication solutions.
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KU Band
TOPOLOGIES
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A combination of both star and mesh topologies. Some VSAT networks
are configured by having several centralized uplink sites (and VSAT
terminals stemming from it) connected in a multi-star topology with each
star (and each terminal in each star) connected to each other in a mesh
topology. Others configured in only a single star topology sometimes will
have each terminal connected to each other as well, resulting in each
terminal acting as a central hub. These configurations are utilized to
minimize the overall cost of the network, and to alleviate the amount of
data that has to be relayed through a central uplink site (or sites) of a star
or multi-star network.The network of VSATs at different locations adopts
different topologies depending on the end applications traffic flow
requirements.The most popular of these is Star topology. Here we have a
big, central earthstation known as the hub. Generally the hub antenna is
in the range of 6-11metre in diameter. This hub station controls, monitors
and communicates with a large number of dispersed VSATs. Since all
VSATs communicate with the central hub station only, this network is
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However, in actual practice a number of requirements are catered to by a
hybrid network topology. Under hybrid networks a part of the network
operates on a star topology while some sites operate on a mesh topology.
Antenna
Block upconverter (BUC)
Low-noise block converter (LNB)
Orthomode transducer (OMT)
Interfacility Link Cable (IFL)
Indoor unit (IDU)
The VSAT comprises of two modules - an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The
outdoor unit consists of an Antenna and Radio Frequency Transceiver. (RFT).
The antenna size is typically 1.8 metre or 2.4 metre in diameter, although
smaller antennas are also in use. The indoor unit functions as a modem and
also interfaces with the end user equipment like stand alone PCs, LANs,
Telephones or an EPABX.
Outdoor Unit
The RFT is mounted on the antenna frame and is interconnected to the feed
horn. Also termed as outdoor electronics, RFT, in turn, consists of different
subsystems.
These include low noise Amplifiers (LNA) and down converters for
amplification and down conversion of the received signal respectively. LNAs
are designed to minimise the noise added to the signal during this first stage
of the converter as the noise performance of this stage determines the
overall noise performance of the converter unit. The noise temperature is the
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parameter used to describe the performance of a LNA.Upconverters and High
Powered Amplifiers (HPA) are also part of the RFT and are used for
upconverting and amplifying the signal before transmitting to the feedhorn.
The Up/Down converters convert frequencies between intermediate
frequency (Usually IF level 70 MHz) and radio frequency. For Extended C
band, the downconverter receives the signal at 4.500 to 4.800 GHz and the
upconverter converts it to 6.725 to 7.025 GHz. The HPA ratings for VSATs
range between 1 to 40 watts.The outdoor unit is connected through a low
loss coaxial cable to the indoor unit. The typical limit of an IFL cable is about
300 feet.
Indoor Unit
The IDU consists of modulators which superimpose the user traffic signal on
a carrier signal. This is then sent to the RFT for upconversion, amplification
and transmission. It also consists of demodulators which receive the signal
from the RFT in the IF range and demodulates the same to segregate the
user traffic signal from the carrier. The IDU also determines the access
schemes under which the VSAT would operate. The IDU also interfaces with
various end user equipment, ranging from stand alone computers, LAN's,
routers, multiplexes, telephone instruments, EPABX as per the requirement.
It performs the necessary protocol conversion on the input data from the
customer end equipment prior to modulation and transmission to the RFT. An
IDU is
specified
by the
access
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Figure2: Parts of Vsat configuration
Access Technologies
Transponders
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Contained in the satellite body are a number of transponders, or repeaters.
Advantages of VSATs
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If by now you believe that VSATs provide an edge over terrestrial lines only
in cases where the land lines are difficult to install, say in the case of remote
locations, then consider this. Close to 50 percent of the total VSAT population
is installed in the US which also boasts of world's best terrestrial
communications.
Let us begin with the situation where you have reliable high-speed links
between city exchanges for meeting your communication requirements. But
before you begin to feel comfortable, connections from the nearest exchange
to your company's office often fail. Consequently, stretching what is
technically called the last mile problem into much longer distances. VSATs
located at your premises guarantee seamless communication even across
the last mile.
2. Reach:
You must be well aware of the limitations faced by terrestrial lines in
reaching remote and other difficult locations. VSATs,on the other hand,
offer you unrestricted and unlimited reach.
3. Reliability
4. Time
5. Network Management
Network monitoring and control of the entire VSAT network is much simpler
than a network of leased lines, involving multiple carriers at multiple
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locations. A much smaller number of elements needs to be monitored incase
of a VSAT network and also the number of vendors and carriers involved in
between any two user terminals in a VSAT network is typically one. This
results in a single point of contact for resolving all your VSAT networking
issues. A VSAT NMS easily integrates end-to-end monitoring and
configuration control for all network subsystems.
6. Maintenance
A single point contact for operation, maintenance, rapid fault isolation and
trouble shooting makes things very simple for a client, using VSAT services.
VSATs also enjoy a low mean time to repair (MTTR) of a few hours, which
extends upto a few days in the case of leased lines. Essentially, lesser
elements imply lower MTTR.
7. Flexibility
8. Cost
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The ideal orbit for a communications satellite is geostationary , or motionless
relative to the ground. Satellites used for communications are almost
exclusively in the geostationary orbit, located at 36000 km above the
equator. In line with ITU stipulations, for avoiding interference, all satellites
are placed 2 degree apart. This places a maximum limit of 180 satellites
operating in a geostationary orbit.However, with a view to maximise the
utilisation of orbital slots, Co-located satellites are being deployed. Co-
located satelites are separated by 0.1 degree in space or approximately 30
kms. Signal interference from the Co-located satellites is prevented by using
orthogonal polarisations. Hence a ground station equipment can receive
signals from two Co-located satellites without any
reorientation of the antenna. The signals can be
differentiated based on their
polarisation.
VSAT’s Strengths
VSAT technology has many advantages as above, which is the reason why it
is used so widely today. One is availability. The service can basically be
deployed anywhere around the world. Also, the VSAT is diverse in that it
offers a completely independent wireless link from the local infrastructure,
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which is a good backup for potential disasters. Its deployability is also quite
amazing as the VSAT services can be setup in a matter of minutes. The
strength and the speed of the VSAT connection being homogenous anywhere
within the boundaries is also a big plus. Not to forget, the connection is quite
secure as they ar private layer-2 networks over the air. The pricing is also
affordable, as the networks themselves do not have to pay a lot, as the
broadcast download scheme (eg. DVB-S) allows them to serve the same
content to thousands of locations at once without any additional costs. Last
but not least, most of the VSAT systems today use onboard acceleration of
protocols (eg. TCP, HTTP), which allows them to delivery high quality
connections regardless of the latency.
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A satellite network can be installed and made operational within a week
since miles of cable need not be installed. And VSATs are available in remote
locations since it dose not need the infrastructure of a telephone exchange
to be present.
“Suppose a bank needs to expand its business by deploying 100 new ATMs
within a week, can you imagine the time it will take to wait for leased lines?
In such case, VSAT connectivity is the best Option.”
VSAT’s Drawbacks
As with everything, VSAT also has its downsides. Firstly, because the VSAT
technology utilizes the satellites in geosynchronous orbit, it takes a minimum
latency of about 500 milliseconds every trip around. Therefore, it is not the
ideal technology to use with protocols that require a constant back and forth
transmission, such as online games. Also, surprisingly, the environment can
play a role in slowing down the VSATs. Although not as bad as one way TV
systems like DirecTV and DISH Network, the VSAT still can have a dim signal,
as it still relies on the antenna size, the transmitter’s power, and the
frequency band. Last but not least, although not that big of a concern,
installation can be a problem as VSAT services require an outdoor antenna
that has a clear view of the sky. An awkward roof, such as with skyscraper
designs, can become problematic.
VSAT bandwidth was not very high and restricted to a few 100 Kbps. There
was also certain amount of latency (the time between initiating a request for
data and the beginning of the actual data transfer) between nodes. But these
limitations have been overcome to a large extent due to advancement in
technology. Nowadays, VSAT providers offer up to 52.5 Mbps outroute (from
hub to VSAT) and 307.2 Kbps inroute (from VSAT to hub) data rates, and only
270 millisecond latency
VSAT IN INDIA
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Ku-Band-based networks which are mostly used in Europe and North
America. The company uses the services of the INSAT-3B satellite.
The platform is able to network the central hub with multiple locations
spread across wide geographical areas. It’s possible to provide outroute
speeds upto 52.5 Mbps and inroute data rates upto 307.2 Kbps.The
SkyBlaster allows us to provide HTTP traffic acceleration and optimization,
caching capabilities, QoS (Quality of Service), multimedia streaming
applications like voice and video, and IP multicast applications
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VSAT channel: VTU teams up with ISRO
This is the first such venture in the country and the two-way interactive
network through Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology through
ISRO's EDUSAT will bridge the gap among the industry, the student
community and the academia.So far, VTU was broadcasting its lessons and
reaching out to students in remote areas hit by paucity of qualified staff in
the areas of emerging technologies, through EDUSAT. But it was a one-way
video and two-way audio system with the interaction restricted to telephone
conversation.
But with the commissioning of the second channel using VSAT technology
that finds application in transmitting data to remote locations including
video, the face of distance education in the country is set to change and
make virtual classrooms a reality.
ISRO, which has pioneered the use of cutting-edge space science and
technology to create state-of-the-art infrastructure for expanding education,
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with VTU on May 28 2007 in
Bangalore.
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Figure 5 : Edusat program
Complaint Fault resolution may vary from Efficient and Effective 24X7
/ Fault relaying of copper at the telephonic helpline support,
Resolution customer premises to fault ensures fast trouble shooting of
resolution in the local any service issue. On Field support
exchange. through the network of business
partners. No local cabling /
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exchange issues
Conclusion
With all their advantages, VSATs are taking on an expanding role in a variety
of interactive, on-line data, voice and multimedia applications. Whether it is
gas station service, rural telephony, environmental monitoring, distance
learning / remote training or the Internet, VSATs are truly poised to be the
Space Age Technology. The cost of VSAT services has decreased
dramatically in the last few months. This is indeed a good sign for large
enterprises and smaller companies who are poised for growth.
It is a myth that VSAT has seen its end. Around 30 percent of all
communications worldwide rely on VSAT, and its deployment keeps
increasing
References
• SATCOMS UK <http://www.satcoms.org.uk/satellite/community/vsat--a-
tutorial-on-vsats--vsat-tutorials_topic754.html>
• HUBPAGES <http://hubpages.com/hub/How-the-VSAT-Technology-Works>
• AMC,Indonesia <http://www.amc.co.id/tutorial.htm>
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