Non-Orthogonal Transmission Techniques for Multibeam Satellite Systems

Non-orthogonal transmission is a promising technology enabler to meet the requirements of 5G communication systems. Seminal papers demonstrated that non-orthogonal multiplexing techniques outperform orthogonal schemes in terms of capacity, latency, and user fairness. Since it is envisioned that satellites will be an integral component of the 5G infrastructure, it is worth studying how satellite communication systems can benefit from the application of non-orthogonal transmission schemes as well. Contrary to common perception, current communications through a satellite present a different architecture and face different impairments than those in the wireless terrestrial links. In particular, this work aims to describe different non-orthogonal schemes that are suitable for the forward link (i.e., satellite to user). In contrast with the return link of the satellite (i.e., user to satellite), where the use of non-orthogonal transmission schemes has been widely studied, less effort has been devoted to the forward link. In light of this, this article provides an overview and a novel taxonomy that is based on the forward link of different non-orthogonal multibeam transmission schemes. Finally, guidelines that open new avenues for research in this topic are provided.