A New Formulation of Spectrum-Orbit Utilization Efficiency for Satellite Communications in Interference-Limited Situations

The spectrum-orbit utilization efficiency of satellite communications is becoming increasingly important. A first attempt is made in this paper to try to formulate the spectrum-orbit utilization efficiency in interference-limited situations by defining the self-efficiency for a single satellite, and the cross-efficiency and coordination efficiency for each pair of adjacent satellites. The various technical aspects and complicated interference considerations relevant to spectrum-orbit utilization can all be reasonably reflected by these simple efficiency parameters. They tell the behavior of each satellite by itself and with its neighbors. Such a formulation is therefore very useful for improving the spectrum-orbit utilization efficiency in future satellite communications.