Symbol Error Analysis of Amplify-and-Forward Based Multiuser Hybrid Satellite-Terrestrial Relay Network

In this letter, we study the average symbol error rate (ASER) performance in a multiuser hybrid satellite-terrestrial relay network (HSTRN) with opportunistic scheduling. The signal broadcast from the satellite is amplified by relay and forwarded to the terrestrial user that has the maximum instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in its channel. Specifically, both the approximate analytical formula and asymptotic expression at high SNRs of the ASER are derived for the fixed gain relaying as well as the variable gain relaying. Monte Carlo simulation are provided to verify our analysis and indicate the performance disparity between the two kinds of relaying protocols.