Tropospheric scintillation and its impact on earth-space satellite communication in Nigeria

The study investigates the impact of tropospheric scintillation on fixed satellite communication link on earth-space path for frequencies between 10 and 50 GHz for 37 stations in Nigeria. Elevation angles of 5°, 55° which are typical look angles for links over the Atlantic Ocean region and Indian Ocean region, look angles to the Nigeria Communication Satellite was also considered. Meteorological climatic data retrieve from satellite such as; profiles of temperature, pressure, and relative humidity, were validated with the available ground data in Nigeria. These data were reprocessed to derive radio propagation input parameters, such as; water vapour density integrated water vapour content and radio refractivity. Secondly, the International Telecommunication Union Propagation model (ITU-P 618, 2009) was used to estimate tropospheric scintillation for time unavailability between 0.01 to 10% in an average year. The result shows that scintillation fade depth is between 4.0 to 19.0 dB and 0.2 to 1.3 dB at 5° and 55° elevation angles respectively. For links to NigComsat scintillation fade depth is between 0.05 to 1.26 dB for all the 37-locations. The results will help in designing, planning and quick integration and expansion of satellite telecommunication services in the six regions of Nigeria.