Long term measurements of slant-path propagation at 20 GHz in Madrid

The use of satellite communication systems in the Ka-band and above is expected to grow in the next few years,. A better knowledge of channel characteristics is required since severe link degradation may occur at such frequencies. A propagation experiment is being carried out in Madrid, Spain, with the objective of characterizing the propagation channel in the downlink sub-band. Propagation results can be related to meteorological data obtained from co-located instruments. Results obtained from the first three years of the experiment are presented in this paper. Being rain attenuation the main propagation impairment in Ka-band, its effects are analyzed in more detail.