Global data rate capabilities of geosynchronous commercial satellites for United States Navy communications

In this report we determine the global data rate capabilities of geosynchronous commercial communications satellites for United States Navy communications. We focus on the use of C-band and K_u-band links, since these frequency bands are the primary frequency bands used by commercial satellites. To determine the data rates, we divide the Earth´s surface into contiguous regions, use generic link budgets, and consider 38 currently orbiting and 11 planned commercial geosynchronous satellites. C-band coverage is available on an almost worldwide basis. The available C-band data rates for most of the ocean areas are well under 1 Mb/s even when planned satellites are considered. For coastal and continental areas, there are a number of regions which can provide data rates of 1 Mb/s or greater. K_u-band coverage is available on a limited global basis; however, re-pointing of some K_u-band beams is possible and could provide coverage in regions where no coverage is presently available. We do not consider re-pointing of the beams in this study. For those regions which have either full or partial coverage, the K_u-band data rates are, in general, much greater than 1 Mb/s