Satellite Communication

Course Instructor: Dr. Safdar Ali

VSAT

WHAT IS A VSAT
Very Small Aperture
Terminal

Refers to the size of the antenna

reflector
VSAT is generally .74 meter up to
2.4 meter

VSAT (remote station) consists of:

Outdoor Unit (ODU):
Reflector
Transceiver (BUC and LNB)
IFL Cable
Coax cable to connect IDU to
ODU
Indoor Unit (IDU)
Ethernet interface to LAN

INTRODUCTION

The first earth station antennas used in commercial

satellite communications systems were very large
and expensive, with typical aperture diameters of
30m.

These antennas operated in C band (6/4 GHz).

With the rapid expansion of satellite

telecommunication world, there was a need to
make access to the satellite more affordable.

INTRODUCTION

This came about in two ways:

A significant increase in the transmit power
capabilities of satellites and the move to
frequency band above C band.

Both led to a rapid decrease in size and cost of

the earth station.

Most VSAT systems operate in Ku band, with earth

station antenna diameters of 1 to 2 m and
transmitter powers of 1 or 2 W.

INTRODUCTION

VSAT systems are used to link businesses and

stores to a central computer system so that sales
transactions can be completed more rapidly than by
using a telephone line and modem, and so that a
central office can rapidly distribute and collect
information from a large number of locations in a
region or country.

The earth stations are usually organized in a star

network, in which the earth stations connect to a
central HUB station via a GEO satellite.

VSAT

The underlying concept

behind most VSAT systems
is to bring
telecommunication service
directly to the end user
without any intermediate
distribution hierarchy.

VSAT are small, softwaredriven earth stations.

It is used for the reliable

transmission of data, video,
or voice via satellite.

VSAT FOR MOBILITY

Fly-a-way VSAT

Man Pack VSAT

On The Pause VSAT

Maritime VSAT

Aeronautical VSAT

VSAT FOR HOME

In North America, as of 2011, there are

over 1 million households using VSAT to
access the internet

VSAT FOR BUSINESS

Retail

Banking

VSATs Used By
Enterprises For
Remote Connectivity

Oil Exploration

Primarily Used For

Locations Which Are
Underserved By
Terrestrial

Lottery

VSAT FOR HIGH AVAILABILITY

Remote Branch

Satellite to Back Up Terrestrial

Satellite to Load Share Terrestrial

VSAT

Corp HQ

Terrestrial
Satellite Enables True Path Diversity

VSAT RELIABILITY

VSAT technology often

high availability &
reliability it is accuracy
reaches to 99.6 to
99.7percentage

For the total VSAT

network. BER(bit error
rate) is better than
1error in 10 million
transmitted bits

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF VSAT

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF VSAT

ODU & antenna provide RF conversion and

amplification for the satellite downlink &uplink
ODU called transceiver

In up link we use(up converter)

In down link we use (LNA & down converter)

IDU provide modulation & demodulation

From IDU we can obtain service we need (datatelephone-fax)

IDU AND ODU

VSAT HUB NETWORK

HUB
Information is produced at the hub having a very large 15
to 36 foot antenna. The hub controls and monitors the
network through a network management system (NMS).
Information is sent up to the communication satellite which
receives, amplifies and beams it back to earth for reception
by the remote VSATs.

17

MULTIPLE ACCESS TECHNIQUES

PAMA (Pre Assigned Multiple Access)

PAMA is an access scheme where in when two

VSATs want to communicate with each other a
bandwidth is pre-assigned to them exclusively.
This assigned bandwidth will be available to the
VSAT's on a permanently basis.

MULTIPLE ACCESS TECHNIQUES

DAMA (Demand Assigned Multiple Access)

This scheme is very similar to a telephone connection. The

role of the telephone exchange is to connect you to the
desired
number. Remotes request a time slot or a
frequency to transmit
their traffic. The Hub plays the
role of a telephone exchange, between any two VSAT's.
NMS allocates each remote a time slot or a frequency to
transmit this traffic.

The attributed frequency or time slot will not be released

until the end of the transmission. The hub plays the role of
a telephone exchange, between any two VSAT's.
The DAMA service addresses point to point voice, fax, and
data communication requirements of remote sites.

NETWORK ARCHITECTURES
One Way Implementation
Split Two Way (Split IP) Implementation
Two Way Implementation

ONE WAY IMPLEMENTATION

This is the mode of a satellite used in the broadcast

satellite services (BSS).

By means of proprietary software in the user

terminals, different parts of the downlink can be
accessed by different subscribers according to the
programs ordered from the supplier.

ONE WAY IMPLEMENTATION

This form of channel selection is called narrowcasting.

There can be many narrowcasting groups within a larger

broadcasting area.

SPLIT TWO WAY (SPLIT IP) IMPLEMENTATION

This implementation is used when there is no

normal return channel as with Ku band broadcast
satellite service systems that carry Internet traffic.
The relatively high capacity downlink stream is not
complemented by an uplink capability from the user
terminal.

If the BSS downlink is used as the download

channel from an internet service provider, the only
option the user has for a return link is via another
telecommunications channel, such as standard
telephone line.

SPLIT TWO WAY (SPLIT IP) IMPLEMENTATION

Remote Branch
VSAT
Corp HQ

Terrestrial

SPLIT TWO WAY (SPLIT IP) IMPLEMENTATION

The Internet Protocol (IP) is therefore split between

a satellite downlink (outbound) channel and a
terrestrial telephone (inbound, or return) channel;
hence the term split IP for this implementation.

The advantage of this approach is that the VSAT

terminal does not require a transmit capability,
which significantly reduces its cost and complexity.

The disadvantage is that the telephone line

connection bit rate is (56 kbps Modem)

TWO WAY IMPLEMENTATION

In this case, a return link is designed into the

service so that two way communications can be set
up over the same satellite, from the hub to the user
and from the user back to the hub.

Two way implementation can be:

Star
Mesh

TWO WAY IMPLEMENTATION

TWO WAY IMPLEMENTATION

Initially, the most common VSAT architectures were

Star networks since the very low receive G/T (gain
to noise temperature ratio) of the VSATs, coupled
with their limited transmit EIRP, was compensated
for by using a large hub with high G/T and EIRP.

TWO WAY IMPLEMENTATION

TWO WAY IMPLEMENTATION

The cost of the hub was quite high and, at least for
the smaller VSAT networks, somewhat prohibitive.
This led to the concept of a shared hub, where
several networks operate through one main hub.

The difficulty with this approach for large countries

with widely dispersed communities is that the host
computers for the small VSAT networks are rarely
close to the hub.

A high speed terrestrial data link is required

between the host computers of the networks and
the hub, which increases the cost of the network.

TWO WAY IMPLEMENTATION

Another star topology limitation is the delay for

VSAT to VSAT communication as we take two hops

In mesh topology allow terminals to communicate

each other directly.

The VSAT terminals is equipped with the network

management and control equipment, each VSAT
must have sufficient power and receive sensivity
(G/T) to communicate with every other VSAT .

Mesh topology requires larger antennas than star

topology

SATELLITE FREQUENCIES
Size of
Antenna
Ka band

26.5 to 40

GHz

K band

18

to 26.5 GHz

Ku band

12

to 18

GHz

X band

to 12

GHz

C band

to 8

GHz

S band

to 4

GHz

L band

to 2

GHz

Impact of
Rain

VSAT BANDS

Currently we use two frequency bands: C-band and

Ku-Band.

For C-band operations, the antennas transmit at 6

GHz and receive at 4 GHz.

Ku-band requires transmission at 14 GHz and

reception at 11-12 GHz

KU-BAND VS. C-BAND

OBTAINING SATELLITE DETAILS

HTTP://WWW.LYNGSAT.COM

OBTAINING SATELLITE DETAILS

HTTP://WWW.LYNGSAT.COM

SATELLITE DETAILS AMOS 1

HTTP://WWW.SPACECOM.CO.IL/

Middle East Beam

SATELLITE DETAILS AMOS 1

HTTP://WWW.SPACECOM.CO.IL/

European Beam