Transport Layer Coding for Satellite-Based Audio and Multimedia Services to Vehicular Terminals in Ku-Band

Satellite radio for vehicles is normally hampered by the problem of the shadowing of the line-of-sight between satellite and receiver. One possible way to overcome this challenge is to provide a new type of radio service, hereafter referred to as personalized satellite radio, in alternative to the streaming approach used for traditional radio: individual audio and multimedia files are broadcasted instead of transmitting a number of distinct continuous streams. The received files are stored in a large cache located in the receiver of each mobile terminal and are sequentially played to generate a service similar to traditional radio/entertainment programmes. The resulting file-based radio approach makes use of higher-layer coding on transport level, to ensure a sufficient file transfer reliability even when some packets are lost due to the shadowing of the line-of-sight path, and of smart techniques to build up an audible programme with no interruptions and full audio quality based upon the available files. The paper presents this novel radio concept and the results of extensive trials which were conducted with a system test-bed developed in the framework of an ESA funded project.