Joint transmitter signal processing in multi-beam satellite systems
| 641 - Abstract: |
| The technology domain of the invention is multiple spot beam satellite systems, where a portion of the spectrum available to the system is re-used amid the user beams. The invention, referred to in the following as precoding, consists of a signal processing method realized at the transmitter (gateway station) at digital (baseband) level that aims at mitigating the interference occurring between the spot beams in the system and, hence, increases the system capacity. To facilitate this, the signals intended to each spot beam are weighted at the gateway with an appropriate complex precoding vector or matrix.A license agreement is sought. |
Description
Satellite broadband connections have become more feasible alternative for internet connections during last ten years. In recent years, multi beam satellite communication systems have played a key role in the global seamless communication. However, the multi beam satellite communication system has to deal with interference issues. If different signals are transmitted to a multiplicity of beams in order to provide point-to-point interactive services, increasing the frequency re-use leads to a large increase in interference between the beams. Different interference mitigation technologies have been developed, such as precoding, which is standardized in terrestrial communication and broadcasting networks.
European Space Agency has developed a solution, that implements multicast precoding, that is joint signal processing, at one or more transmitters of a multi-beam satellite communication system addressing multiple satellite terminals in each of multiple beams with a single precoding matrix. Unlike existing solutions, this is applicable to a case in which each data stream transmitted from a respective transmit feed towards a spot beam on ground is addressed to multiple user terminals and is acting as a container of their data to provide a high degree of statistical multiplexing.
Enhanced precoding algorithms can naturally be implemented either on a software or on a hardware.
Innovations and advantages
The invention solves the problem of intrasystem interference generated amid multiple spot beams within the system re-using the same portion of the spectrum over the same or opposite polarization. In particular, the invention address the adaptation of pre-coding techniques to the DVB-S2/DVB-Sx air interface specifications. Developed algorithms differ from algorithms known in the prior art in that they satisfy the need to provide for improved capacity in spite of the precoder being required to accommodate multiple user terminals per beam which are bundled within a single frame. The practical application of the invention is any type of satellite communication system sending information to a multiplicity of user spot beams on the ground.
Commercialisation aspects
Applications and Markets
The potential domains of applications are various, the main applications concern:
- Wireless telecommunication.
- Satellite broadband terminals
