Performance evaluation and capacity analysis for IDMA-based satellite communication system

In order to overcome the shortcomings of the existing multiple access methods in satellite networks, IDMA technique is introduced into satellite communication networks in this paper. IDMA is a multiple access scheme based on CDMA and it supports multiple users with low multiuser detection complexity and provides more and better service for users with limited resources. In the existing literature, the performance of IDMA is mainly evaluated in AWGN channels, while this paper establishes a simulation model of IDMA-based satellite communication system, and then derives the expression of system capacity by taking the mobile satellite communication channels into consideration. Analysis and simulation results show that IDMA method leads to better BER performance and higher capacity than CDMA method in satellite communication environment, illustrating a new solution to next-generation satellite communication systems.