Satellite Communications VSAT Networks

This four-day course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to satellite communications VSAT networks using the current state-of-the art.

The course is organized into four days of training to provide good understanding of the use and development of satellite communications for enterprise and remote applications. The first two days provide review of satellite and ground station technology and applications in data and voice. Mathematics is limited to algebra and arithmetic necessary to calculate basic satellite link properties like received carrier to noise ratio, bandwidth, antenna gain and required uplink transmit power. This is used to size the network and determine costs for space and ground elements. Also covered are principles of TCP/IP over satellite links and network design principles.

The last two days are designed to concentrate on project management in satellite communications using best industry practices. We will develop a network design and basic plan for a VSAT network that can be used during supplier evaluation and implementation.

The following is the course outline:

DAY 1 - Principles of Satellite Communications

Introduction to satellite systems – frequency bands, orbits, characteristics of GEO and non-GEO systems, advantages and disadvantages of various orbital schemes, the satellite and the ground station/VSAT.

Satellite networks – star and mesh, information formats and rates, network structure, equipment suppliers and service providers

Microwave frequencies and technology – ITU frequency bands –C, Ku and Ka, frequency assignment and regulatory procedures

Radio wave propagation on earth to space paths – clear air attenuation, sky noise, ionospheric scintillation, rain attenuation and rain models

Free space propagation – power flux density, free space loss, use of decibels, antenna gain, linear and circular polarization

DAY 2 – Radio Frequency Engineering and Ground Segment Design

Elements of the uplink and downlink – definitions, transponder saturation, power budget calculations, noise budgeting, digital signals and bandwidth, carrier to noise ratio, Eb/N0, satellite footprint

Basic link budgets for a single carrier - downlink link budget, uplink link budget, combined link budget

Modulation and forward error correction – modulation systems, QPSK, 8PSK and 16QAM, convolutional and block coding, concatenated coding, turbo coding, comparison of modulation and coding systems.

Multiple access systems – FDMA, TDMA and CDMA, application of multiple access systems to VSAT and other networks

Earth station hubs and VSATs – configurations and supplier designs

DAY 3 – Satellite Network Project Management

Satellite data networks – TCP/IP performance over satellite links, protocol adaptation and spoofing, interfacing with LANs and public networks, security techniques

Project phases – collection and assessing requirements, network design, procurement of satellite capacity and VSAT and hub equipment, test and evaluation, initiation of services, upgrades and network retirement

Project management – project team organization, working with suppliers, site surveys, installation problems and their resolution

RF interference – sources of RF interference (space and ground), interference resolution procedures

Operations and maintenance procedures – setting up a satellite link and network, network management

DAY 4 – VSAT Network Design Workshop

Requirements for the VSAT network – locations to be served, number of users, applications, expansion requirements, connectivity (star or mesh, full time or occasional)

Satellite selection – area to be covered, available satellites (Intelsat, AsiaSat, JSAT, New Skies, etc.), evaluating satellite reliability, contract terms (protection, lease versus buy, etc.)

Throughput requirements – average data rate, busy hour considerations, latency and response time

Equipment selection – review of equipment choices (HNS, Gilat, iDirect, ViaSat, EMS, etc.), comparison based on performance and cost

Rollout planning – timing of needs, initial capability/pilot, phases of the rollout

Network documentation – project plan, specifications, test requirements, O&M plan, upgrades

Service level agreements – Quality of service objectives, typical parameters for an SLA