Trade-Off Between Data Rate and Signal Power Split in GNSS Signal Design

An important modification of the signal structure in most of the upcoming Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) is the availability of a pilot channel in quadrature with the data channel, allowing users to benefit from improved signal processing. When designing GNSS signals, an important factor that affects the overall system performance is a trade-off between navigation data bit rate and data channel signal power. This study of future GNSS signals therefore performs the necessary detailed analysis of the optimal relationship between data rate and signal power split in terms of the available carrier-to-noise ratio. The strategy focuses on the optimization of the data/pilot combining algorithms (e.g., pilot-only tracking, data-only tracking, or combined tracking), the bit rate, and the signal power split between data and pilot channels.