Daniele Vito Finocchiaro

S-MIM: A novel radio interface for efficient messaging services over satellite

This article presents a radio interface recently standardized by ETSI under the name of S-band Mobile Interactive Multimedia (S-MIM) and especially designed to provide ubiquitous messaging services over S-band GEO satellites using low-power terminals. Thanks to low terminal cost and high bandwidth efficiency, this standard allows the development of new satellite services, particularly for vehicular and machine-to machine applications. The S-MIM standard relies on a broadcasting radio interface such as DVB-SH or ETSI SDR in the forward link, and reuses 3GPP W-CDMA technology properly adapted to the scope in the return link. Thanks to the use of spread spectrum ALOHA, terminals can access the channel in a totally asynchronous manner. The use of a packet-optimized iterative successive interference cancellation (i- SIC) algorithm at the receiver allows exploiting the inherent power imbalance among terminals in order to boost the throughput with respect to conventional SSA systems. In addition, advanced packet transmission control techniques have been adopted to maximize the probability of successful packet reception in the challenging land mobile satellite channel. Finally, the S-MIM link layer provides efficient and reliable transport of IP datagrams over the forward and return link radio interfaces.

System design for pan-European MSS services in S-band

This paper gives an overview of a suitable communications system capable of efficiently use the available S-band allocation for pan-European Mobile Satellite Services (15 MHz in both uplink and downlink for each of the two licensed operators) to provide different classes of services such as interactive mobile broadcast services enhancing DVB-SH offer, messaging services for handheld and vehicular terminals, realtime emergency services such as voice and file transfer, mainly addressing institutional users on-the-move such as fire brigades, civil protections, etc… The design is based on a modular, flexible and scalable system architecture enabling different channelisations and frequency allocations within each beam, allowing independent deployment of different service classes within different beams, whilst ensuring backward compatibility with DVB-SH legacy terminals.

Perspectives on mobile satellite services in S-band

This paper makes a survey of current trends and perspectives in the development of mobile satellite services in S-band in Europe. We present the recent evolutions and current status of different ongoing projects. We also identify current technology challenges and key drivers in the future evolution.

Broadband Mobile Satellite Services: The Ku-band Revolution

ABSTRACT In this paper we analyze the emergence of new system architectures and prod-ucts that are able to deliver broadband services into mobile environments us-ing Ku-band. In particular, we analyze the latest technological solutions that have been developed to cope with the stringent requirements of a mobile envi-ronment. Such solutions have brought broadband to environments such as business jets, commercial aircrafts, trains, and cars, which are today the new frontiers where broadband MSS can be offered. 1. INTRODUCTION After 25 years where mobile satellite services (MSS) have been delivered using L-band infrastructures, with the arrival of broadband services it is evi-dent than the scarce frequency resource in L-band is a structural limit to the scalability of such services. At the same time, Ku-band satellites have been until recently positioned to cover land masses only, and therefore they did not seem well suited to offer MSS that, by nature, require coverage over land and sea masses. But recent evolution in the market demand for ubiquitous broad-band services, with service quality comparable to those today available via ADSL or fibre networks, has generated a new business opportunity for satel-lite operators and satellite service providers. Consequently, market offers have appeared, starting from regional maritime services in Ku-band, evolving to global broadband services for aeronautical, and more recently maritime, scenarios, from the launch of the “Connexion by Boeing” offer [6] to the pro-vision of GSM services onboard cruise ships [7]. These offers have initially suffered of the typical problems of new technolo-gies, with relatively bulky and expensive equipment, but have opened a new opportunity for developing and deploying advanced system architectures and new products tailored to the different market opportunities. In this paper we analyze the emergence of new system architectures and products that are able to deliver broadband services into mobile environments using Ku-band. In particular, we analyze the latest technological solutions that have been developed to cope with the stringent requirements of a mobile environment. Such solutions have brought broadband to environments such

From S‐band mobile interactive multimedia to fixed satellite interactive multimedia: making satellite interactivity affordable at Ku‐band and Ka‐band

This paper describes the evolution of the ETSI S-band mobile interactive multimedia protocol to support fixed satellite interactive multimedia F-SIM services exploiting existing Ku-band and Ka-band satellites. The key F-SIM protocol differences for both physical and upper layers are described and justified. The F-SIM protocol has been adopted by the recently deployed Eutelsat Broadcast Interactive System whose architecture, key system parameters, link budget examples and key composing elements are also described. Finally, a summary of laboratory and field trials results over the Eutelsat KA-SAT multibeam satellite are illustrated. Copyright

S-Band: A New Age in Mobile Satellite Services

The launch in early 2009 of the first satellite with an S-band payload serving Europe will open the way to a new set of mobile services. This paper contains updated information on this new exciting project, and in particular on the future mobile applications that will benefit from this innovative satellite. A survey of the associated technologies and their likely availability is also performed, as well as an analysis of the regulatory issues and the business perspectives towards this new market.

Performance Analysis of an Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha System

In this paper we present tests results of the first platform implementing a high performance Random Access protocol dubbed Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha (E-SSA), conceived for satellite applications. The aim of the study is to highlight key features of the system, introducing experimentally-found threshold values and translating them into operating conditions. A system overview is provided together with a summary of the most relevant parameters and the framework of the tests. The preamble detection and the packet demodulation processes are analysed, showing the importance of exploiting Successive Interference Cancellation techniques (SIC). It is shown that the code collision, due to a robust rate in the turbo-code and to the iterative cancellations, does not affect the system performances. Finally, Packet Loss Ratio (PLR) in presence of received carrier power and frequency unbalance is detailed with the aim of simulating more realistic scenarios.

Enhanced spread spectrum aloha demodulator implementation, laboratory tests and satellite validation

SUMMARY This paper describes the implementation of the first enhanced spread spectrum aloha demodulator, based on an innovative architecture which combines software-defined radio with processing via commercial graphics processing units. The validation tests performed both in laboratory conditions and directly on the satellite EUTELSAT 10A are presented. The performance assessment results obtained via satellite validate the theoretical results to a sufficient degree to make enhanced spread spectrum aloha technology a viable option for low-power mobile and fixed terminals, thus encouraging the growth of satellite mass market applications. Copyright

The nefocast project: A nowcasting weather platform based on dual-frequency interactive satellite terminals

In this paper, we present a research project named NEFO-CAST, that targets a very-short-term forecasting platform with high accuracy and small-scale spatial resolution. The innovative solution lies in adopting a new generation of interactive satellite terminals, called SmartLNB, that serves both as a weather sensor and the transceiver for the forecasting platform. Throughout the paper, we highlight the main features of the system, including the advantages compared to state-of-the-art solutions, the expected results, and the market perspectives.