Gap Filler Architectures for Seamless DVB-S2/RCS Provision in the Railway Environment

In this paper, we study the provision of broadband interactive services to passengers of Korean high-speed train in the ISM 2.4 GHz band. We address in particular the design of tunnel gap-fillers (GFs) able to provide bi-directional connectivity to train-based terminals. The work has been developed in the broader context of interactive services provision for high-speed trains through satellite networks. First, a channel model for the in-tunnel propagation is derived. Taking into account the results of the propagation analysis, a comparison between commercial technologies (belonging to both the IEEE and the DVB standard families) is provided, showing the possible strengths and weaknesses of the proposed solutions with respect to architectural and performance point of views.