Filter Bank-based Multicarrier Modulation for Multiple Access in Next Generation Satellite Uplinks: A DVB-RCS2-based Experimental Study

In the context of the ongoing evolution of satellite communication systems to their next generation, involving higher data rates and increased flexibility, it is of interest to study in depth the applicability of multiple access (MA) multi-carrier modulation (MCM) schemes that have shown promise to meet the requirements of the future terrestrial networks. A comparative study of MA schemes employing offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM)-based filter bank multicarrier (FBMC/OQAM) and classical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is presented in this paper. The considered air-interface follows the latest Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) family of standards for the satellite return link. Considering a high-power amplifier (HPA) of a very small aperture terminal (VSAT), the performance of the two MA schemes is evaluated in an asynchronous multiuser satellite environment involving time and frequency synchronization errors. Our results indicate that while FBMC-based MA (FBMA) is more sensitive near saturation and in the presence of timing errors, it is more robust to frequency offset errors not only in terms of the Total Degradation (TD) but also in terms of the Spectral Efficiency (SE), since it only needs minimal guard bands among the different users. This is a preliminary study of the potential gains from the integration of the FBMA technology in the satellite infrastructures and standards. Future work will include results on single-carrier modulation (SCM) FBMA as well

Orthogonal multicarrier modulations in satellite uplinks

In this paper, we analyze Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access and Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access as alternative physical layer schemes for the up-link of a satellite network. Both orthogonal frequency-division multiple access and single-carrier frequency division multiple access are orthogonal multicarrier modulations (MCMs). They provide a higher spectral efficiency than the single-carrier modulations employed today in satellite networks. Unfortunately, MCMs are also more vulnerable to nonlinear distortion, phase noise, and synchronization errors. This has prevented, so far, the use of MCMs in satellite uplinks, where these impairments are very critical. In our analysis, we show that a well-design MCM system can effectively provide reliable communications in satellite uplinks, even in the presence of nonlinear distortion, phase noise, and synchronization errors. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd