Modeling of mobile satellite channels by scalable clustering algorithm

In order to guarantee the quality of service of satellite communication systems, the effective design must take into account the characteristics of the propagation channels. We focus on the methodology of extraction of the relevant parameters for Markov models corresponding to the received signals of satellite transmissions. Our approach is empirical in the following sense: rather than postulate a priori number of states or probability laws for the instantaneous received power, we try to estimate these laws by processing available experimental signals from the considered channel. The method, used on transmissions in the L-band, is general as it can be applied to various types of signals with a Markovian underlying variability.