Predictive fade countermeasures for Ka band satellite systems

This paper investigates the performance of a predictive fade control strategy based on a minimum variance approach for application to low fade margin Ka band satellite systems. Ideal beacon detection is assumed. A statistical model based on a modified concept of global fading process is developed. This is used to evaluate the performance of the fixed detection margin approach to account for scintillation-induced effects. This is expressed in terms of fade countermeasure (FCM) utilisation ratio. The impact of time delays on the design and performance of an adaptive transmission rate countermeasure is also evaluated.