Modelling of the satellite communications channel — With emphasis on the land mobile satellite channel

As an introduction, this paper gives an overview over the essential physical phenomena of the satellite communications channel, with particular emphasis on the land mobile satellite (LMS) channel. Then it describes measurement and modelling techniques for the LMS channel and gives an overview over this field. The characteristics of the LMS channel are discussed, and “historic” DLR channel measurements are reviewed. From this, a narrowband channel model is derived, and parameters of the channel model, resulting from measurements, are presented. Also, a four-state model for dual satellite channel diversity is introduced. Finally, the paper reviews a wideband LMS model based on a tapped delay line.