Satellite communications for the millennium

The tremendous growth worldwide in the use of Internet and multimedia services prompted the ambitious planning and evolution of commercial, broadband satellite communication systems. The proposed systems must provide two-way, interactive services to support aggregate data rates in the range from 1 to 20 Gbps per satellite. With the lower allocations for C- and Ku-band already congested the ITU has granted licenses to satellite organizations to operate broadband satellite systems in the Ka-band spectrum, which is often referred to as 30/20 GHz. This paper assesses the future role of satellite communications in providing mobile or fixed Internet users with broadband Internet connections. It outlines a system approach for analyzing Ka-band satellite communications link availability. It is based on GIS-generated, global rain models integrated with the link budget. The models developed allow us to examine major system design issues encountered in Ka-band (or higher) satellite communications that are susceptible to propagation impairments.