An Analytical Prediction Model of Time Diversity Performance for Earth-Space Fade Mitigation

Time diversity (TD) has recently attracted attention as a promising and cost-efficient solution for high-frequency broadcast satellite applications. The present work proposes a general prediction model for the application of TD by approximating the time dynamics of rain attenuation through the use of the joint lognormal distribution. The proposed method is tested against experimental data and its performance is investigated with respect to the basic parameters of a satellite link

Simulation of a Narrowband Power Line Communications System over Medium Voltage

Narrowband Power Line Communications (NB-PLCs) are investigated as an alternative option for transferring low rate smart grid (SG) data via Medium Voltage (MV) power lines. In this framework, two variants of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing are examined, namely Filtered-OFDM (F-OFDM) and Wavelet-OFDM (W-OFDM), in an attempt to determine which of them is capable of transmitting low rate SG data to greater distances over non-branched MV power lines. The reach of NB-PLC signals via MV power lines is estimated, taking into account the transfer function of the relevant PLC channels and noise mechanisms as well as the specific features of the two modulation options under consideration. Simulations show that NB-PLC transmission constitutes a technically feasible and economically affordable option for exchanging low rate data with remote SG nodes dispersed over the MV grid. Moreover, simulations show that F-OFDM allows low rate data transmission to considerably greater distances compared to W-OFDM

A Generic Framework for the Evaluation of the Benefits Expected from the Smart Grid

The Smart Grid has the potential to bring significant value to the various stakeholders of the electricity market. A methodology for the evaluation of the smart grid benefits is required to facilitate the decision making by quantifying the benefits expected from a smart grid project. The present paper proposes a generic framework to assess these expected benefits taking into account the regulatory, business and technical challenges focusing particularly on Distributed Systems Operators (DSOs) and end users. An indicative study case is presented where the proposed cost-benefit approach assesses the expected value of DSOs from the Smart Grid and determines whether and under what conditions such an investment should be initiated

Multi-Satellite MIMO Communications at Ku-Band and Above: Investigations on Spatial Multiplexing for Capacity Improvement and Selection Diversity for Interference Mitigation

This paper investigates the applicability of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology to satellite communications at the Ku-band and above. After introducing the possible diversity sources to form a MIMO matrix channel in a satellite environment, particular emphasis is put on satellite diversity. Two specific different topics from the field of MIMO technology applications to satellite communications at these frequencies are further analyzed: (i) capacity improvement achieved by MIMO spatial multiplexing systems and (ii) interference mitigation achieved by MIMO diversity systems employing receive antenna selection. In the first case, a single-user capacity analysis of a satellite MIMO spatial multiplexing system is presented and a useful analytical closed form expression is derived for the outage capacity achieved. In the second case, a satellite MIMO diversity system with receive antenna selection is considered, adjacent satellite cochannel interference on its forward link is studied and an analytical model predicting the interference mitigation achieved is presented. In both cases, an appropriate physical MIMO channel model is assumed which takes into account the propagation phenomena related to the frequencies of interest, such as clear line-of-sight operation, high antenna directivity, the effect of rain fading, and the slant path lengths difference. Useful numerical results obtained through the analytical expressions derived are presented to compare the performance of multi-satellite MIMO systems to relevant single-input single-output (SISO) ones.</p