Radio Link Control Acknowledged Mode configuration for MUOS

As part of 3G WCDMA, the Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol is a layer 2 protocol that provides transport services between User Equipment (UE) and the Radio Access Network (RAN). Three transport modes of operation are provided: Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). In a satellite system, the long propagation delay between the UE and the RAN make the proper configuration of RLC AM critical in meeting MUOS requirements such as latency and capacity. In this paper, we focus on the enhancements to and configuration of RLC for a satellite system such as MUOS. Of particular interest is the modification of RLC to support MUOS Group services.