Statistical analysis of tropospheric scintillation of satellite communication signals using Karasawa and ITU-R models

The climatology of the tropics coupled with its deep convective evolution at the equatorial troposphere has continued to draw significant attention to the effects of scintillation on satellite communication signals. Dearth of signal degradation data perceived as scintillation fade depth is pronounced in the tropics. In particular, the effect of tropospheric scintillation on two major satellite providers, namely NigComSat-1R and Eutelsat, were considered. Karasawa and ITU-R statistical models were used. Twelve months data were collected from the Tropospheric Data Acquisition Network stations with geo-spatial coverage representing Nigerian climatic zones. The variability is D9% for both models in the monsoon climate, and □ 158%-180% in warm semi-arid climate for both ITU-R and Karasawa, respectively. Scintillation intensity was highest in the monsoon climate with values of 1.31dB, 1.51dB and 18.72 dB using ITU-R, and 0.88 dB, 1.06 dB and 27.05 dB using Karasawa for Eutelsat, NigComSat-lR and low elevation satellites.