An operator's view: The medium-term feasibility of an optical feeder link for VHTS

As connectivity and data-rate demands continue to escalate, free-space optical communication is recognised as one of the key enablers for the required progression towards Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS). This paper provides a summary of the key benefits, challenges and satellite operator considerations of a VHTS optical feeder link with regards to the RF alternatives; namely Ka-band, Q/V-band and W-band. A qualitative, high-level comparison was made for each solution based on a five system criteria in order to evaluate the feasibility and attractiveness of an operational optical feeder link in the 2021-2023 timeframe for a <;500 Gbps satellite. Potential link and ground architectures for a VHTS optical feeder link are also described. For the scenario of this paper, Q/V-band is the most competitive of the RF-based feeder links however optical looks promising to deliver the most attractive solution providing the technology reaches the required TRL and cost-effective ground architectures are deployed.