SPOCS: a system to measure satellite link performance

As telecommunication networks become fully digital, satellite operators and network/service providers need to have a reliable and accurate means of measuring facility performance. To enhance AT&T´s capabilities for commissioning, testing, operating, maintaining, and trouble-shooting digital satellite links, AT&T-Bell Laboratories has developed the Satellite Performance Operational Characterization System (SPOCS). SPOCS can measure various parameters that are important in determining the quality of a satellite link such as bit or block errors, carrier-to-noise levels, or the amount of rainfall measured at the earth station. This paper describes the features and capabilities of SPOCS and presents examples of data obtained on field measurements