Radio wave propagation measurements for land-mobile satellite systems at 2.33 GHz

The performance of a mobile satellite communications link is dominated by roadside attenuation due to vegetation or manmade structures. Previous measurement campaigns characterized land-mobile satellite channels at UHF and L bands. In 1997, the FCC allocated S-band spectrum to the Digital Audio Radio Satellite (DARS) service to provide nationwide radio services to the North American continent via satellite. This article describes a propagation measurement campaign at 2.33 GHz for DARS systems. Measurements were taken in various propagation environments and typical values of propagation constants for standard models are presented.