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Satellite Communications A
Part 4
Access Schemes in Satellite Networks
-Professor Barry G Evans-

Satellite Network organisation

EARTH STATION TRAFFIC MATRIX:

Satellite Networks
-Fixed and Demand Assignment-

Basic multiple access techniques

FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLE
ACCESS (FDMA)

Various layers of multiple access

There are two layers of multiple access:
Access to any earth station by several users
Access to the satellite by all earth stations

At each layer, the access problem is solved using one or a combination of

the basic multiple access techniques

FDMA Techniques

FDMA
-1 carrier per link-

With N earth stations:

Each earth station transmits (N-1) carriers to the other
stations
The satellite repeater handles N(N-1) carriers

FDMA
-1 carrier per station-

With N earth stations

Each earth station transmits to one carrier modulated by a
multiplex of the signals to the other earth stations
The satellite repeater handles N carriers

One carrier per station

FDMA throughput

FDMA Summary
Access Channel: give frequency band
Advantages
Use of existing hardware to a greater extent than other
techniques
Network timing not required

Disadvantages
As the number of accesses increases, intermodulation
noise reduces the usable repeater output power (TWT
back-off). Hence there is a loss of capacity relative to
single carrier/transponder capacity
The frequency allocation may be difficult to modify
Uplink power coordination is required

TDMA Satellite System

In a TDMA system, each earth station transmits traffic bursts, synchronized so that they
occupy ASSIGNED NON-OVERLAPPING time slots. Time slots are organised within a
periodic structure called TIME FRAME.

A burst is received by all stations in the downlink beam and any station can extract its traffic
from any of the bursts
a BURST = link from one station to several stations (TDMA=one-link-per-station
scheme)

Burst Generation

Recovery of data messages

Frame Structure
-Example: INTELSAT/EUTELSAT

Synchronisation -Problem statement-

Synchronisation -Problem statement Space-time graph

illustrating TDMA
synchronisation

Synchronisation
-Determination of stat of local TDMA frame instant

TDMA synchronisation

Synchronisation of multiple beam TDMA systems

Open loop synchronisation

Measurements of round trip delay are performed by three ranging stations using closed loop
synchronization.
Satellite position is derived by triangulation and range from each ordinary station to satellite is
calculated at reference station.
Satellite-to-station range information and frame timing is distributed to all ordinary stations by
reference station

Frame efficiency

TDMA throughput

TDMA summary
Access Channel: given time slot within time frame
Advantages
Digital signalling provides easy interfacing with developing digital
networks on ground
Digital circuitry has decreasing cost
Higher throughput compared to FDMA when number of accesses is
large

Disadvantages
Stations transmit high bit rate bursts, requiring large peak power
Network control is required
Generation and distribution of burst time plans to all traffic stations
Protocols to establish how stations enter the network
Provision of redundant reference stations with automatic switchover to
control the traffic stations
Means for monitoring the network

CDMA
-Spread spectrum communications

Transmitter spreads baseband signal from bandwidth W to B.

B/W = spreading factor (100 to 1 000 000).

Receiver despreads only signal with proper address.

Received signals with other addresses and jammer are spread by

receiver and act as noise.

Addresses are periodic binary sequences that either modulate the carrier
directly (DIRECT SEQUENCE SYSTEMS) or change the frequency state
of the carrier (FREQUENCY HOPPING SYSTEMS).

Direct sequence systems

Direct sequence systems

-power spectrum of data and of spread signal-

Direct sequence systems

-practical receiver implementation-

CDMA
-Frequency hopping systems

Code generation

Code Synchronisation
-direct sequence systems-

Exercise- Capacity of a CDMA system

Exercise- Capacity of a CDMA system

Multiple access
-Comparison of multiple access techniques

Advantages/disadvantages of various
multiple access techniques
Type of multiple access
FDMA

TDMA

CDMA

Advantages

Disadvantages

Network timing not required

Intermodulation products
cause degradation and poor
power utilisation

Compatible to existing
hardware

Uplink control power required

No mutual interference
between accesses

Network control required

Uplink power control not

needed

Large peak power

transmission for earth station

Maximum use of satellite

transponder power, most
efficient

Being digital in nature

interface with analogue
system is expensive

Network timing not required

Wide bandwidth per user

required

Anti-jamming capability

Strict code sync.needed

Random Access Schemes (1)

FDMA/TDMA/CDMA fixed access have been
designed for circuit/stream traffic
Bursty data traffic e.g. packets- more
efficiently dealt with via random access
schemes
In random access there is no permanent
assignments resource is allocated when
needed on a random basis

Random Access Schemes (2)

Simplest system is ALOHA transmit packets and if
collide, retransmit with random time difference.
Performance via throughput versus delay
Throughput = N L/R
N= no transmissions
= packet generation rate (S-1)
L= packet length (bits)
R= transmission bit rate (bits/s)

ALOHA doesnt need synchronisation

Maximum throughput 18%

Random Access Schemes (3)

SLOTTED-ALOHA confines transmission to slot boundaries
and needs time synchronisation
Maximum throughput is increased to 36%
Channel throughput (S)

0.36
S-ALOHA
(S=Ge-G)

0.18
ALOHA
(S=Ge-2G)

Channel load (G)

As system rapidly becomes unstable as collisions build up,

usual to operate below maxima

Random Access Schemes (4)

For variable length messages need to
employ more complex scheme e.g. slotted
reject ALOHA
Use multi-packet message and only retransmit sub-packets that collide
Increases throughput (0.37) independent of
message length

Random Access Schemes (5)

Comparison of random access

Random Access Schemes (6)

Comparison performances
S-ALOHA
ALOHA

S-R.ALOHA

Delay

DA-TDMA

Throughput

For stream or file traffic need to use reservation

TDMA (DA-TDMA) schemes

Random Access Schemes (7)

Reservation TDMA
ith frame
RS
F
i

ISFi

(i+1) frame
R
S
F
i+1

ISF(i+1)

RSF= Reservation Sub Frame

ISF = Information Sub Frame
RSF used to book space in next ISF frame according to
demand
RSF can be operated in fixed TDMA, ALOHA, S-ALOHA, etc.

Random Access Schemes (8)

Summary
Select RA scheme for traffic type and
delay/throughput ( number of txs)
Take care to achieve stability
ALOHA: short bursty traffic
S-ALOHA: short bursty traffic better throughput
S-R.ALOHA: variable length messages
RA-TDMA: stream or file transfers