Feasibility Study of an Aeronautical-Satellite Broadband Communications Experiment

The development of a technology demonstration payload for experimental broadband communications at Q/V bands has been funded by the Italian Space Agency. This payload will be embarked on the Alphasat satellite for testing fixed broadband ground-satellite communication services. However, the interest in the further experimentation of aeronautical mobile satellite communication services has been recognized. Therefore, in this work the feasibility of an experiment for aeronautical-satellite broadband communications in Q-band is analyzed through the definition of a novel simulation method of an aeronautical satellite multipath channel. Simulation results regarding the performance of DVB-S2 communication links demonstrate the feasibility of the experiment for the provision of broadband communication services.