CONCEPTS OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

Long distance communication through conventional coaxial or microwave radio relay link
involves large number of repeaters. Obviously, as the number of repeaters increases the
reliability is degraded. Also the cost of the systems goes up.
If two stations A & B, located long distance apart, are linked by coaxial system then the
signals are attenuated as they travel along cable. So the signal must be amplified &
equalized at a number of repeaters in between. The repeater spacing depends upon numbers
of circuit to be provided and the type of cable used. Typically repeaters are required at 9
Km for 4 MHz & 1.5 Km for 60MHz system. If linked by microwave system the signal is
transmitted as a link of sight beam. Intermediate repeaters are needed to compensate for
free space loss & delay equalization. The repeaters spacing are mainly limited by clearance
for line of sight.
Microwave link require fewer repeaters than coaxial system. Typical spacing is 30 to 50
Km for microwave links.
If the antenna height of the repeaters could be increase to have more clearance for line
sight, the numbers of microwave repeaters because as the number of repeaters increase it
results into
• Poor system performance.
• Low reliability
• High cost
Large area for communication would be covered if the height of the microwave repeater
could be increased sufficiently and virtually by putting it about on artificial earth satellite
in the space.
By using Satellite all this drawbacks can be removed. Satellite coves about 1/3 part of
earth surface. So the signals can be transmitted at a vide area of the earth.
Working of Satellite communication:

A satellite communication system has number of earth stations. At transmitting stations

the base band or other incoming signal is then beamed up to the satellite repeater through a
transmit antenna.
The uplink RF signals is transmitted to the satellite through a high power amplifier, the
transmitted signal is received by the earth station at a RF, which is different from former
to avoid interference between the amplified uplink signal and the downlink to the ground
coverage area. The process of down converting in the satellite is performed by a number of
units called transponders.

In a similar way the signals transmitted by the earth stations B to earth station A. This is
how earth stations A & B communicate simultaneously with each other. In fact, signals
transmitted by the earth station are broadcast by the satellite to its area of coverage & not
just directed to other with which to communicate. The microwave signal returned from
satellite are so weak that the special equipment, called LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER is
necessary to boost – up the information which keeping the unwanted noise to be minimum.
The signals are then sent to the received equipment, which recovers the base band, the
signal is then sent through the terrestrial link to its destination. Thus a communication
satellite is essential a microwave repeater. It receives the energy, beamed up at it by the
highly directive antennas at the earth stations, shifts it by a couple of GHz & returns it to
the earth in broadcast mode to cover a large area on the earth.
A brief history of space communication

The idea of radio transmission through space was first conceived in 1911. In 1945 British
author-scientist Arthur C Clarke suggested the use of a geosynchronous earth satellite for
the purpose. His assumption of a manned space station was later revised by a US engineer,
J R Pierce, in April 1955, who was also the first one to analyze unmanned communication
satellites. This idea later led to the great success of satellite communications.

The first artificial satellite "SPUTNIK I" was launched by the erstwhile USSR, in 1957.
This began a series of space initiatives by USA and USSR.

The first satellite communication experiment was the US government's project SCORE
(Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment), which launched a satellite on
December 18, 1958. This satellite circled the earth in an elliptical orbit and retransmitted
messages recorded on a magnetic tape. It lasted for about 13 days after which the batteries
ran out!!

The US Army Signal Corp's Courier IB, launched in October 1960, lasted for about 17
days. It could handle typewriter data and voice and facsimile messages.

It was a balloon, Echo 1, launched in August 1960, which led American Telephone &
Telegraph Company (AT&T) to build Telstar. Communication tests carried out by
reflecting radio signals from Echo 1's surface were completely successful.
Telstar, launched on July 1962 was the first active satellite with a microwave receiver and
transmitter to transmit live television and telephone conversations across the Atlantic. It
was turned off in February 1963. Successive initiatives include NASA's Relay 1 satellite
was launched in elliptical orbit in December 1962 and Syncom 2, the first synchronous
communication satellite was launched in July 1963.

In 1964 a global initiative was undertaken leading to the formation of INTELSAT, which
has been one of the major driving forces for the large scale commercial exploitation of
satellite technology for communications. Since then there has been no looking back.
What is a VSAT?

The term Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) refers to a small fixed earth station.
VSATs provide the vital communication link required to set up a satellite based
communication network. VSATs can support any communication requirement be it voice,
data, or video conferencing.

The VSAT comprises of two modules - an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The outdoor
unit consists of an Antenna and Radio Frequency Transceiver. (RFT). The antenna size is
typically 1.8 metre or 2.4 metre in diameter, although smaller antennas are also in use. The
indoor unit functions as a modem and also interfaces with the end user equipment like
stand alone PCs, LANs, Telephones or an EPABX.

VSATs can typically be divided into two parts- an outdoor unit and an indoor unit. The
outdoor unit is generally ground or even wall mounted and the indoor unit which is the size
of a desktop computer is normally located near existing computer equipment in your office.

GROUND STATIONS (basic equipments required for vsat earth

station for communication purpose)

GROUND SEGMENTS
In comparison to terrestrial link repeater, satellite is situated at very far distance ,
therefore earth stations need to have higher transmit side & more sensitive, low noise
amplifier on the receive side.
Information signals is received from the trunk exchange of customer premises through
terrestrial link and signal are multiplexed & amplified in a base band amplifier. Base band
signals modulate a carrier at an intermediated frequency. Modulated output is up converted
to radio frequency. RF signal is amplified in a high power amplifier (HPA).
Sensitivity of an earth station is defined in terms of ratio of the receive antenna gain to
the noise temperature of the receive chain or G/T, known as “figure of merit of the earth
station’. For small domestic earth station, signals received by antenna are amplified by low
noise amplifier (LNA). Amplified signals are demodulated to recover the information
signal.

1. ANTENNAS
An antenna is a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic waves. In
other words, antennas convert electromagnetic waves into electrical currents and vice
versa. Antennas are used in systems such as radio and television broadcasting, point-to-
point radio communication, wireless LAN, radar, and space exploration .
Most essential thing for the earth station is to have antenna of proper size, because
without the antenna it is not possible to catch the signal coming from the satellite. For
domestic thin route communications using SCPC antenna dia of 3-4.5m.
The cassegrain antenna is most often used for dishes that exceed five meters in diameter.
Its use is primarily restricted to uplink earth stations and cable TV head ends.
For multi channel FDMA or TDMA, DAMA ,ONGC URAN uses a 11m diameter Antenna
for automatic or step tracking. For medium size and small antennas (7 m and below)
manual tracking is usually adequate.
Classification of Earth Station
E/S Type Antenna Dia. (m)
A 11
B 7.5
C 4.5
A standard antenna works by concentrating signals, which are picked up along its axis,
to a single point. This point is called the focal point. The receiving amplifier is usually
placed near the focal point and the concentrated signals are collected into the receiver using
a small horn. This serves to further concentrate the signals to get the maximum possible
signal level at the amplifier input.

The focal point can be offset from the main axis so that the receiving equipment does not
obstruct the beam in any way. This offset has the effect of raising the beam of the antenna.
The exact amount that the beam is raised is equal to the amount of offset. Thus, if the offset
is 20 degrees then the beam is raised by 20 degrees.

Antenna shapes and sizes vary but they all do the same thing, every antenna dish you see
including radio telescopes, which are basically receive only antennas, all perform this
function. they all focus the signals they receive from a specific point oin space onto a small
area where they can be received and amplified.

The principle works in exactly the same way for transmitting a signal. The transmit
amplifier produces a large signal to a horn set at the focal point. The signal is then radiated
onto the dish which in turn focuses the signal into a parallel beam of energy out into space
to the satellite.
2. HIGH POWER AMPLIFIER
Power amplifier is required to obtain necessary EIRP (Equivalent Isotropic Radiated
Power) from an earth station. For international large capacity links or for TV uplinks HPAs
with few kilowatts may be needed. For thin route domestic communication using SCPC few
watts of power may be adequate. For large power of the order of few kilowatts traveling
wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) or Klystron. Klystrons have narrow instantaneous
bandwidth around 40MHz tunable over 500MHz range. TWTAs have wide bandwidth
typically around 500MHz. At medium powers TWTAs are commonly used. Solid state
amplifiers GaAs FET amplifiers can provide around 5 watts and are preferred for small
earth stations. Transistor amplifiers are simpler and also have higher linearity.

4. LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER

The low noise amplifier (LNA) is a special type of electronic amplifier or amplifier used
in communication systems to amplify very weak signals captured by an antenna. It is often
located very close to the antenna. If the LNA is located close to the antenna, then losses in
the feedline become less critical. This "active antenna" arrangement is frequently used in
microwave systems like GPS, because coaxial cable feedline is very lossy at microwave
frequencies.

Since the signals from satellite received at earth station are of very low level, highly
sensitive, low noise front - end amplifier is required. Using an LNA, the noise of all the
subsequent stages is reduced by the gain of the LNA and the noise of the LNA is injected
directly into the received signal. The noise figure is usually less than a dB & is expressed in
noise temperature. For reducing the ohmic losses to obtain lower noise, the physical
temperature is reduced by cooling .Thermo-electric (Peltier effect) cooling is generally
employed to obtain noise temperature up to 35oK. For LNA with low noise temperature of
the order 75oK & above employed in the medium & small size domestic earth stations
generally GaAs FET amplifier are used since they are simpler, more reliable & cheaper as
compared to parametric are used since they are simpler, more reliable & cheaper as
compared to parametric amplifiers. LNA are mounted at the antenna feed to reduce
lossesThus, it is necessary for an LNA to boost the desired signal power while adding as
little noise and distortion as possible so that the retrieval of this signal is possible in the
later stages in the system.

5. UP & DOWN CONVERTER

Up converter is used to transmit the signals to the satellite. Down converter is used to
receive the signals from the satellite. Up & Down converter may be single conversion or
double conversion type. Frequencies of local oscillator in the converters may be generated
employing crystal or frequency synthesizers. Crystal oscillators are preferred for SCPC
applications because of their low FM noise content. Frequency synthesizers offer flexibility
to set the frequencies in small step of 125 KHz or 250 KHz. e.g. - SFC4200 C-Band
Satellite Up/Down converter is used.

6. MODEMS
Frequency deviation for FM satellite links is usually higher as compared to radio relay
link, modulations & demodulation should, therefore have linearity. There are different
types of modems. Basically the modems used in satellite communication are CU modems-
voice, VSAT RCS modems, VSAT DMD modems, HSCU-modems Data.
7. ECHO-CANCELLER:
The term echo cancellation is used in telephony to describe the process of removing echo
from a voice communication in order to improve voice quality on a telephone call. In
addition to improving subjective quality, this process increases the capacity achieved
through silence suppression by preventing echo from traveling across a network.

Two sources of echo have primary relevance in telephony: acoustic echo and hybrid echo.
Speech compression techniques and digital processing delay often make these echoes more
severe in telephone networks.
Echo cancellation involves first recognizing the originally transmitted signal that re-
appears, with some delay, in the transmitted or received signal. Once the echo is
recognized, it can be removed by 'subtracting' it from the transmitted or received signal.
This technique is generally implemented using a digital signal processor (DSP), but can
also be implemented in software. Echo cancellation is done using either echo suppressors
or echo cancellers, or in some cases both.

8. POWER SYSTEM:
For reliability no break power plant at an earth station is essential. Generally, AC power
from commercially main is rectified through a charger & feed storage batteries on float.
The batteries drive an inverter (3 phase for large station), which delivers A.C power supply
fails. Standby engine alternators are installed to meet contingency in case of power failures.
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF SATELLITE EARTH STATION
EQUIPMENTS TO BE INSTAL
Outdoor Unit

The antenna system comprises of a reflector, feedhorn and a mount. The size of a VSAT
antenna varies from 1.8 metres to 3.8 metres. The feedhorn is mounted on the antenna
frame at its focal point by support arms. The FEED HORN directs the transmitted power
towards the antenna dish or collects the received power from it. It consists of an array of
microwave passive components. Antenna size is used to describe the ability of the antenna
to amplify the signal strength.

The RFT is mounted on the antenna frame and is interconnected to the feed horn. Also
termed as outdoor electronics, RFT, in turn, consists of different subsystems.

These include low noise Amplifiers (LNA) and down converters for amplification and
down conversion of the received signal respectively. LNAs are designed to minimise the
noise added to the signal during this first stage of the converter as the noise performance of
this stage determines the overall noise performance of the converter unit. The noise
temperature is the parameter used to describe the performance of a LNA

Upconverters and High Powered Amplifiers (HPA) are also part of the RFT and are used
for upconverting and amplifying the signal before transmitting to the feedhorn. The
Up/Down converters convert frequencies between intermediate frequency (Usually IF level
70 MHz) and radio frequency. For Extended C band, the downconverter receives the signal
at 4.500 to 4.800 GHz and the upconverter converts it to 6.725 to 7.025 GHz. The HPA
ratings for VSATs range between 1 to 40 watts

Interlink Facility

The outdoor unit is connected through a low loss coaxial cable to the indoor unit. The
typical limit of an IFL cable is about 300 feet.
Indoor Unit

The IDU consists of modulators which superimpose the user traffic signal on a carrier
signal. This is then sent to the RFT for upconversion, amplification and transmission. It
also consists of demodulators which receive the signal from the RFT in the IF range and
demodulates the same to segregate the user traffic signal from the carrier. The IDU also
determines the access schemes under which the VSAT would operate. The IDU also
interfaces with various end user equipment, ranging from stand alone computers, LAN's,
routers, multiplexes, telephone instruments, EPABX as per the requirement. It performs the
necessary protocol conversion on the input data from the customer end equipment prior to
modulation and transmission to the RFT. An IDU is specified by the access technique,
protocols handled and number of interface ports supported.

VSAT System Architecture

A VSAT system consists of a satellite transponder, central hub or a master earth station,
and remote VSATs. The VSAT terminal has the capability to receive as well as transmit
signals via the satellite to other VSATs in the network. Depending on the access
technology used the signals are either sent via satellite to a central hub, which is also a
monitoring centre, or the signals are sent directly to VSATs with the hub being used for
monitoring and control.

Topologies

The network of VSATs at different locations adopts different topologies depending on the
end applications traffic flow requirements. These topologies could be Star or Mesh.

The most popular of these is Star topology. Here we have a big, central earthstation known
as the hub. Generally the hub antenna is in the range of 6-11metre in diameter. This hub
station controls, monitors and communicates with a large number of dispersed VSATs.
Since all VSATs communicate with the central hub station only, this network is more
suitable for centralized data applications. Large organizations, like banks, with centralized
data processing requirements is a case in point.

In a mesh topology a group of VSATs communicate directly with any other VSAT in the
network without going through a central hub. A hub station in a mesh network performs
only the monitoring and control functions. These networks are more suitable for telephony
applications. These have also been adopted to deploy point to point high speed links.
However, in actual practice a number of requirements are catered to by a hybrid network
topology. Under hybrid networks a part of the network operates on a star topology while
some sites operate on a mesh topology.
VSAT Access Technologies

Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA)

In a TDMA system, input digital signal bit stream is stored in a buffer memory & is
transmitted at higher bit rate on a short duration carrier burst from earth station. Earth
station sends the burst in an assigned time slot. A reference station sends a reference burst
relative to which all traffic station adjusts their burst in their assigned slot so as to avoid
overlap with bursts of other stations. Earth carrier burst follows a prescribed format
consisting of a preamble & information signals. Preamble contains few bits for carrier & bit
timing recovery, a unique word for reference, station identification code, control signals,
teletype & order wire signals.

TDMA system requires sophisticated synchronization technique. PCM-PSK-TDMA with

quadric- phase modulation results in efficient utilization of satellite power and bandwidth.
Using digital interpolation speech technique (DSI) the available channel capacity can be
doubled. Apart from increase in the canal capacity, with use of demand assignment TDMA
offers considered flexibility to make change in traffic requirement with use of demand
assignment.

Illustration of TDMA with three earth station. Transmitting earth stations must time there
burst transmitting so that they arrive at the satellite in the correct sequence. This signal
transmitted by the satellite is a continuous sequence of burst separated by short guard
times.
Frequency Division Multiple Access

Sharing Bandwidth (FDMA)

Using the analogy above, FDMA is simply having all the students talking together but only
listening to one teacher.

In the same way, the teacher has to tune in to one student and filter out the rest. This is
perhaps simple to understand since radio and tv has traditionally used this principle, albeit
one way from transmitter to receiver.

In FDMA separate frequency are used for transmission of each carrier from any satellite.
FDM-FM-FDMA is the conventional & most commonly used method for satellite
communication. However for multi-carrier operation of satellite transponder, due to no –
linearity of the output traveling wave tube amplifier (TWTA), they have to be operated
bellow its saturation level in order to keep inter – modulation products with in limits. This
results in inefficient use of satellite power. Therefore TDMA are preferred when each
station transmits bursts of short duration in a time sequential order permitting where station
bursts of short duration in a time sequential order permitting use of full satellite power.

In the shown fig Ch 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 are signals transmitted at different frequency in the

available Bandwidth.

Sharing Bandwidth & Time (FTDMA)

Now if the students take turns to talk to the teacher then the teacher can talk to every
student. The teacher can choose which student can talk and when they can talk. Sounds like
a dream situation for some teachers.

M-FTDMA is the same system, each student has a frequency or groups of students have a
frequency and the teacher has a frequency. The result is an extremely efficient access
scheme for many VSAT users to communicate with the network via satellite.

There are further two types of FDMA:

1. Pre – assigned multiple accesses. (PAMA).
2. Demand assigned multiple accesses (DAMA).
• Pre – assigned multiple accesses. (PAMA):
I Pre – assigned multiple accesses the frequency allotted is fixed. Suppose we want to
call any place, then the frequency of call signal is fixed. This results in less number of
calls. Pre – assigned multiple accesses is used to send the data or other any signal.

• Demand assigned multiple accesses (DAMA):

In Demand assigned multiple accesses frequency allotted is controlled by Master
Signaling Channel Unit (MSCU). Suppose if we want to call any place then a request is
send to MSCU. MSCU allots frequency the frequency which is free. Then the call is
establish between that two places by using allotted frequency. Once the call is complete is
over, then the frequency is left free so that it can be used again by other caller. So now
there can be many numbers of connections as compared in PAMA. The satellite earth
station where there is MSCU is called as master’s station or HUB station.

DEMERITS OF FDMA
1. Susceptible to jamming
2. Inefficient utilization of satellite power and bandwidth
3. Uplink power co–ordination is required
4. Frequency Co-ordination is required.

Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA)

For radio systems there are two resources, frequency and time. Division by frequency, so
that each pair of communicators is allocated part of the spectrum for all of the time, results
in Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA). Division by time, so that each pair of
communicators is allocated all (or at least a large part) of the spectrum for part of the time
results in Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). In Code Division Multiple Access
(CDMA), every communicator will be allocated the entire spectrum all of the time. CDMA
uses codes to identify connections.

CDMA uses unique spreading codes to spread the baseband data before transmission. The
signal is transmitted in a channel, which is below noise level. The receiver then uses a
correlator to despread the wanted signal, which is passed through a narrow bandpass filter.
Unwanted signals will not be despread and will not pass through the filter.

Codes take the form of a carefully designed one/zero sequence produced at a much higher
rate than that of the baseband data. The rate of a spreading code is referred to as chip rate
rather than bit rate.

CODES
CDMA codes are not required to provide call security, but create a uniqueness to enable
call identification. Codes should not correlate to other codes or time shifted version of
itself. Spreading codes are noise like pseudo-random codes, channel codes are designed for
maximum separation from each other and cell identification codes are balanced not to
correlate to other codes of itself.
THE SPREADING PROCESS
WCDMA uses Direct Sequence spreading, where spreading process is done by directly
combining the baseband information to high chip rate binary code. The Spreading Factor is
the ratio of the chips (UMTS = 3.84Mchips/s) to baseband information rate. Spreading
factors vary from 4 to 512 in FDD UMTS. Spreading process gain can in expressed in dBs
(Spreading factor 128 = 21dB gain).

POWER CONTROL
CDMA is interference limited multiple access system. Because all users transmit on the
same frequency, internal interference generated by the system is the most significant factor
in determining system capacity and call quality.

The transmit power for each user must be reduced to limit interference, however, the power
should be enough to maintain the required Eb/No (signal to noise ratio) for a satisfactory
call quality. Maximum capacity is achieved when Eb/No of every user is at the minimum
level needed for the acceptable channel performance.

TECHNOLOGY SIMPLIFIED – SCPC (DAMA/PAMA)

Possessiveness is a basic human instinct. One really doesn’t like to share resources. You
want your own PC. You want a dedicated LAN connection. You want your own home
page. You want your own telephone. Well the list is long. But this is in direct contradiction
to the fact that Networking was born and has evolved on the philosophy of resource
sharing, first across premises and eventually across geographies.
So we are going to talk about two things –
a) Dedicated resources in a shared environment and
b) Shared resources in a dedicated environment.

This means that if you don’t want to travel in a bus you can buy a car (it’s your dedicated
resource), but you cannot buy the road (it’s a shared resource).
Let’s come to the point directly. We are talking about Satellite Communication. Today
there is a plethora of products and technologies available in the market place. It is indeed a
formidable task to select the appropriate technology. The even more difficult task is to
select the appropriate product. This documents aims to demystify the concepts involved
with an established technology – the Single Channel Per Carrier or SCPC technology.
The service provider providing SCPC connectivity services has a deep resemblance to a
Courier company. After all it is also a service provider. We ask the service provider much
the same questions as we do while selecting a Courier company. Now since we all are
familiar with Courier business, lets take a close look how the business operates, how the
customer’s interests are taken care of and what are the trade-off involved.
SCPC provides clear channel communication. To understand this lets the situation where
you have to send large equipment. Now then there are two ways to send it. You either send
it as a single piece or you disassemble it into small parts and then send it. In the later option
you have to first disassemble the equipment, send adequate information with each
component to that it can be re-assembled in the proper order. Now if one of the components
does not arrive in time then the whole consignment waits till it arrives. The former case
represents clear channel communication and the later represents packetised data/voice
transmission.
The Courier Company picks up the goods from your premises and delivers to you premises
in another location and thus it provides end-to-end delivery. Similarly SCPC provides end-
to-end data, voice and video connectivity. Its just not sufficient to deliver the information,
it should be delivered at the earliest. Now there are two ways to it. If you observe the
geographic distribution of your organization, you can surely identify locations between
which you transfer goods very frequently. So the Courier Company can reserve a definite
space in their flights to carry your goods everyday. If your goods volume is very large then
you can ask the Courier Company to reserve a flight for you.
Of there is a cost attached to it. At the same time once the flight is dedicated to you, any
type of goods can be sent through. However if you don’t load the flight fully, then you are
at loss as the cost of operating the flight still remains the same. But there is a way to
optimize or distribute the cost. Use the flight to cove all your locations sequentially, taking
a pair at a time.
In parlance of SCPC connectivity, the flight illustrates the concept of a frequency carrier.
Thus the frequency carrier can either be permanently assigned between two VSATs giving
way to Permanently Assigned Multiple Access (PAMA). Thus a permanently assigned
frequency channel provides dedicated bandwidth, through which you can send data, voice
or video. This illustrates the concept of Dedicated Resource in Shared Environment. Here
the frequency channel is dedicated to you but the basic Satellite resource is shared by
many.
Now the assigned frequency carrier in PAMA can either be used for voice or for data.
But what if you want to use one carrier for data and voice. Of course this is possible. How
ever it calls for the use of a call of device called Voice Data Multiplexer (VDM) which
combines or aggregates several data and voice channels into one trunk line which in turn is
interfaced to the VSAT equipment. The VDM is chosen primarily keeping in mind the
number of voice channels required. A typical VDM configuration comprises of one LAN
interface and multiple voice interface.
Alternately the frequency carrier can be assigned between any two VSATs on a demand
basis giving way to Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA). Thus several VSATs
share a floating link. Now as the number of VSAT grows, one floating channel becomes
insufficient. Thus a pool of floating is assigned for the group of VSATs. It should be noted
that in DAMA after the link is established it becomes equivalent in every respect to
PAMA. Thus DAMA involves a call establishment cycle which is not there in PAMA.
The link establishment in DAMA is quite similar to making a long distance telephone
call. If your phone has STD facility then you just dial the destination number and get
connected. In the absence of the ISD felicity you request the telephone operator to dial the
destination number and connect you through. But once you are connected the operator does
not come in picture. Thus in DAMA call setup procedure the end equipment first data
transmission request to the VSAT. The VSAT then sends another request to the Network
Control Center (NCS). The NCS then sends another request to the destination VSAT to
confirm if it is busy. If it is not busy then it allocates a pair of frequency to the two VSATs.
Thus the clear channel circuit is established end-to-end. Thus the NCS is only involves in
call establishment.
A logical question that arises here is what should be the capacity of the satellite channel
established between two locations.
Going back to the courier analogy, if you notice there are weight slabs fixed by the
courier company e.g. 0 to 1Kg, 1 to 5 Kg, 5 to 20 kg, 20 to 50kg and so on. This implies
that whether you want to send a 1.5 kg object or a 4.9 Kg object, the charges are the same.
Of course you would like the range to be narrower. Similarly in the case of SCPC the
capacity of the Satellite channel cannot be arbitrary. The commonly available steps are 4.8
Kbps, 9.6 Kbps. 16 Kbps, 19.2 Kbps, 32 Kbps, 64 Kbps and 128 Kbps. Thus depending on
traffic requirement appropriate channel size is allocated.
 A network can have a mix of both PAMA and DAMA Links. Generally PAMA is
preferred for data and DAMA for voice. Also there can be multiple DAMA and PAMA
from the same location. Finally the DAMA link can be easily transformed into a PAMA
link. This does not call for any hardware chance. This can be seamlessly carried out from
the Network Control System (NCS).
Now an obvious question is what determines how many frequency channels or carriers
can be established from one location. Well there are two things in this. One is the Channel
Unit and the other is the RF Unit. The Channel Unit is the satellite modem (the counterpart
of the familiar Landline modem). Every frequency carrier PAMA or DAMA requires a
Channel Unit. These Channel Units are housed in a modular chassis having multiple slots.
So it is obvious that if you are using a four slot chassis, you can have up to four carriers.
Now the RF Unit, which is collocated with the antenna, actually transmits four frequency
carriers. Now there is certain amount of power associated with each carrier depending on
its bandwidth i.e. the RF unit has to radiate more power to transmit a 64 Kbps carrier that a
19.2 Kbps carrier. Thus every RF unit has a definite power rating and that has to be
considered while determining the number of carriers supported. Normally RF units are
available with power ratings of 2W, 5W, 10W and 20W. For example a 5W RF unit can
support either two 64 Kbps Carriers or seven 19.2 Kbps Carriers or fourteen 9.6 Kbps
Carriers. Thus if you need three voice channels (@ 16 Kbps per channel) and two 19.2
Kbps and one 64 Kbps data channel then you will require a 10W RF unit.

Space segment :
Space Segment is available from organisations which have procured satellites, arranged
launches and conducted preliminary tests in-orbit and who then operate these satellites on
commercial basis.

Transponders :
Contained in the satellite body are a number of transponders, or repeaters.
These transponders perform the following functions :
Signal Reception - it receives the signal uplinked by a VSAT and/or hub
Frequency Translation - the frequency of the received signal is translated to a different
frequency, known as the downlink frequency.

The frequency translation ensures that there is no positive feedback and also avoid
interference related issues.
Amplification - the transponder also amplifies the downlink signal.

The number of transponders determines the capacity of a satellite. The INSAT series of
satellites have typically 12 / 18 transponders in various frequency bands. Each transponder
typically has a bandwidth of 40 Mhz.

The various frequency bands are as below –

Frequency Band Uplink (GHz) Earth Station to Satellite Downlink (GHz)
Satellite to Earth Station
C Band 5.925 to 6.425 3.700 to 4.200
Extended C Band 6.725 to 7.025 4.500 to 4.800
Ku Band 14.000 to 14.500 10.950 to 11.700
Internationally Ku-Band is a popular frequency band in use. The Ku- Band by virtue of its
higher frequency can support traffic with smaller antenna sizes in comparison to C / Ext-C
Band. It is , however, susceptible to rain outages making it unsuitable for use in South East
Asian regions. Indian service providers are presently allowed to hire space segment only on
the INSAT series and operate in Ext-C band only. Ext-C band is available only on the
INSAT series of satellites and is not a standard band available internationally.

Link Budgets :
Ascertains that the RF equipment would cater to the requirements of the network topology
and satellite modems in use. The link Budget estimates the ground station and satellite
EIRP required. Equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) is the power transmitted
from a transmitting object. Satellite ERP can be defined as the sum of output power from
the satellite’s amplifier, satellite antenna gain and losses.

Calculations of signal levels through the system (from originating earth station to satellite
to receiving earth station) to ensure the quality of service should normally be done prior to
the establishment of a satellite link. This calculation of the link budget highlights the
various aspects. EIRP required at the transmitting VSAT, Satellite EIRP which will be
required for a desired specified gain of this receiving system. Apart from the known losses
due to various cables and inter - connecting devices, it is customary to keep sufficient link
margin for various extraneous noise which may effect the performance. It is also a
safeguard to meet eventualities of signal attenuation due to rain/snow. As mentioned earlier
a satellite provides two resources, bandwidth and amplification power. In most VSAT
networks the limiting resource in satellite transponder is power rather than bandwidth.

With all their advantages, VSATs are taking on an expanding role in a variety of
interactive, on-line data, voice and multimedia applications. Whether it is gas station
service, rural telephony, environmental monitoring, distance learning / remote training or
the Internet, VSATs are truly poised to be the Space Age Technology.
ICNET DEMAND ASSIGNED MULTIPLE ACCESS(DAMA)

DAMA is an access technique, which allows to be shared on demand basis, and takes any
advantage of random occasional nature of telephone traffic, full mesh connection means
any point in the system can communicate with any other point. Primary application - rural
telephony, trunking and disaster recovery. Earlier SCPC ( Single Channel Per Carrier )
system were analog – uses high B.W. Mesh system uses less B.W than star system. Star
system requires double hop for point to point connectivity requiring HUB for every call. In
mesh direct point to point connectivity can be accomplished after call set up. All the
components are modularized system intra call inter system calls, support C band and KU
band.

APPLICATIONS
Voice data and other services, point to point data, thin route/medium route mesh DAMA
for voice band data, reassigned or dialup. High-speed data with bandwidth is on demand.

FEATURES
1. Universal telephone interface
2. digitized voice with group three fax capability
3. Voice data can be added in increments of one
4. Traffic analysis and billing data collection
5. continuous monitoring and control of remote station
6. priority call handling
7. Multi transponder support

DAMA DETAILS
Network uses a pool of satellite channels, which are available for use by any station in that
network. On demand pair of available channels is assigned so that a call can be established.
Once the call can is completed, the channels are retuned to the pool for an assignment to
another call. Since the satellite resource is used only in proportion to the active circuits and
their holding times, this is ideally suited for voice traffic and data traffic in batch mode.
Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) offers point to point voice, fax, and data
requirements and supports vide conferencing. A DAMA system is typically a single stop
satellite transmission network, which allows direct connection between any two nodes in
the network among many users sharing a limited “pool” of satellite transponder space.
DAMA improves satellite network connectivity and resource utilization efficiency. In a
DAMA system, the network allocates communications bandwidth to each call from a pool
of frequency channels on demand-assigned basis. E.g. when a telephone user picks up the
phone make a call, the request is made to a Network Management System (NMS) over the
shared DAMA common signaling channel. The NMS function as a “switchboard in the
sky” And determines if call is valid and establishes the channel (including bandwidth)
between the call originating site and the called number. Circuits remain active only as long
as needed, and then are broken to free bandwidth for other uses.When the call is completed,
the remote terminals inform the NMS and the freed bandwidth is returned to the frequency
pool. By using a DAMA system a single transponder can support several thousand
subscribers DAMA system quickly and transparently assign communication links or the
circuits to users on a call by call basis. After the call ends, channels are immediately
returned to the central pool, for reuse by others. By using DAMA, many subscribers can be
served using only a fraction of the satellite resources required by dedicated, point to point
Single- Channel –Per-Carrier (SCPC) networks. DAMA system is versatile, reduce
communication costs, and provide the customer total control of their satellite-based
network.
 NETWORK MANAGEMET SYSTEM (NMS)

NETWORK SYSTEM
It’s a part of client/server relationship. NS is centralized server AMT is a client NS is DOS
based system used for initial configuration and installation of the network access is
controlled through the use of usernames, password and privilege levels.

FR EQ U E N C Y
A S S IG N M E N T S

O U T L IN K

CALL
A S S IG N M E N T S
ALOH A
R E T U R N LIN K

C A L L IN I T IA T IO N
R E Q U E ST
R e m o t e s it e
ALOH A
M a ste r site R E T U R N LIN K

C A L L T E R M IN A T I
ALOH A
-O N REQUEST R E T U R N LIN K

1. Integrated system wide monitoring and control. Status of all equipments in the system
can be displayed and controlled including power amplifier, up down converter, modems,
multiplexer etc.
2. Administration – numbering plan, circuit types, trunking assignments, remote
configuration, password, security and system displays can be changed.
3. Maintenance – each CU individually tested status to be displayed in real time on AMT.
4. Call processing – detects origination calls, allocated BW, frequency correction.
5. Monitors each call and issues teardown. It maintains through database of traffic statistics
and call detail records. This information is stored on hard disks of online and standby
computers.

NMS uses database management system (DBMS). The function of DBMS is to maintain
system data in an organized structure it also maintains memory requirement database
designated for fast access and update additionally
1. Redundancy support
2. Equipment control
3. User interface
SYSTEM SIGNAL FLOW

MASTER SIGNALLING
The master signal channel units (MSCUs) at the master site are digital satellite modem and
communications processors which reside in the NMS and provide the signaling interface to
remote equipment. The MSCUs transmit the outbound signal known as the out link, receive
the inbound telecom signal (return links), and receive the monitor and control (M &C)
inbound signal. The outbound signal is monitored by all remote channel units as a pilot
signal. The outbound signal is also used for data communication from the NMS to the
remote channel units. The figure below shows a basic network system signal flow. The
remote site generate call requests to the master site NMS using the return links.

SATELLITE MODEM EQUIPMENT

SYSTEM CONTROL
CALL ASSIGNMENT
OUT LINK
NETWORK M&C QUERIES

RETURN CALL REQUESTS

SERVER
LINK CALL END

RETURN CALL REQUESTS

CALL END
LINK
LOCAL
CHANNEL RETURN CALL REQUESTS
EQUIPMENT CALL END
LINK

MONITOR &
M&C POLL RESPONSE
CONTROL

REMOTE SIGNALLING
The NMS generates a continuous outbound link to communicate with the remote sites.
Each channel unit (CU) continuously monitors this stream of data for messages addressed
to its site ID/channel number. Each CU also monitors the out link when it is not carrying
data or voice traffic. When a channel unit decodes a properly addressed message, it
responds appropriately on one of the return links or the M&C return links. Using a separate
link for monitoring and control messages ensures the data does not use system-signaling
resources and reduce the call handling capacity. The M&C return link allows failures to be
quickly detected. The figure below depicts a typical signal flow between the master station
and remote sites.
CALL SETUP MANAGEMENT
The mesh DAMA system is a SCPC system with carrier assigned on demand mesh means
CU’s a remote can communicate directly.
1. A satellite based DAMA call starts when subscriber lifts handset, CU detects off hook
condition and issues dial tone to the caller. The caller dials the number of the called
party.
2. Caller CU sends call request to NMS – message contains number of called party and
address of CU exchange unit. This takes 0.25 seconds to travel to and fro from satellite.
3. NMS checks its database assign satellite bandwidth to call. NS sends call assigns
satellite BW to call. NS sends call assigns satellite BW to call. NS sends call assigns
satellite BW to call. NS sends call assignment message to two channel units (first and
second party). A TX & RX frequency is contained in call assignment. Assignment
message send is transmitted on ALOHA frequencies, which are fixed in Master
signaling channel unit system.
4. CU exchange tuned to the assignment frequency and exchange link setup message.
These messages verify that can receive each other. Once link established phone will
begin to ring.
5. When second party lifts the handsets CU exchange will detect the off hook condition
and send off hook message to the first CU. After off hook message, it converts
compressed Data into voice again.
6. Call is ended when one subscriber or both hang-up telephone. The CU exchange
disconnects message and drops their carriers. One CU will send call end message to
NMS so that it creates CDR and release BW to another call and two frequencies are
availed.

The place where all the process of allotting frequency is carried out is call as master’s site
or HUB station. Master site provides overall network monitoring and administration. The
master site provides redundant network servers, administration and maintenance terminals
(AMTs), master signaling channel units (MSCU), an RF subsystem and an antenna. In
addition, the master site can contain additional channel units. The system has redundant
components and protection switching. This allows continuous uninterrupted operation in
case of failures and prevents loss of call processing.
ADVANTAGES OF VSATS
If by now you believe that VSATs provide an edge over terrestrial lines only in cases
where the land lines are difficult to install, say in the case of remote locations, then
consider this. Close to 50 percent of the total VSAT population is installed in the US which
also boasts of world's best terrestrial communications.
Networking of business activities, processes and divisions is essential to gain a
competitive edge in any industry. VSATs are an ideal option for networking because they
enable Enterprise Wide Networking with high reliability and a wide reach which extends
even to remote sites.

Last Mile Problem

Let us begin with the situation where you have reliable high-speed links between city
exchanges for meeting your communication requirements. But before you begin to feel
comfortable, connections from the nearest exchange to your company's office often fail.
Consequently, stretching what is technically called the last mile problem into much longer
distances. VSATs located at your premises guarantee seamless communication even across
the last mile.

Reach
You must be well aware of the limitations faced by terrestrial lines in reaching remote
and other difficult locations. VSATs,on the other hand, offer you unrestricted and unlimited
reach.

Reliability
Uptime of upto 99.5 percent is achievable on a VSAT network. This is significantly
higher than the typical leased line uptime of approximately 80 to 85 percent.

Time
VSAT deployment takes no more than 4-6 weeks as compared to 4 to 6 months for
leased lines.

Network Management
Network monitoring and control of the entire VSAT network is much simpler than a
network of leased lines, involving multiple carriers at multiple locations. A much smaller
number of elements needs to be monitored incase of a VSAT network and also the number
of vendors and carriers involved in between any two user terminals in a VSAT network is
typically one. This results in a single point of contact for resolving all your VSAT
networking issues. A VSAT NMS easily integrates end-to-end monitoring and
configuration control for all network subsystems.

Maintenance
A single point contact for operation, maintenance, rapid fault isolation and trouble
shooting makes things very simple for a client, using VSAT services. VSATs also enjoy a
low mean time to repair (MTTR) of a few hours, which extends upto a few days in the case
of leased lines. Essentially, lesser elements imply lower MTTR.
Flexibility
VSAT networks offer enormous expansion capabilities. This feature factors in changes
in the business environment and traffic loads that can be easily accommodated on a
technology migration path. Additional VSATs can be rapidly installed to support the
network expansion to any site, no matter however remote.

Cost
A comparison of costs between a VSAT network and a leased line network reveals that
a VSAT network offers significant savings over a two to three years timeframe. This does
not take into account the cost of downtime, inclusion of which would result in the VSAT
network being much more cost - effective. Pay-by-mile concept in case of leased line sends
the costs spiraling upwards. More so if the locations to be linked are dispersed all over the
country. Compare this to VSATs where the distance has nothing to do with the
cost.Additionally, in case of VSATs, the service charges depend on the bandwidth which is
allocated to your network in line with your requirements. Whereas with a leased line you
get a dedicated circuit in multiples of 64Kbps whether you need that amount of bandwidth
or not.
General flow chart concerning VSAT installation
The actions that will follow the site survey until bringing the VSAT online are:

Site survey

Finding Installation
Line of site NO Allternative NO impossible
Position

YES

YES

Finding
Installation
INTERFEAR YES Allternative NO impossible
ENCE Position

YES
NO

Roof Non penetrating

penetrating NO
Mount

YES

Cable >30m
Length RG11 Cable
<70m

<30m

Installation

Antenna
allingment

IDU
Configuration

VSAT online
SITE SURVAY
Before installation, a field operations engineer should visit the site that the VSAT
is to de installed. The engineer has to take care of the following:
1. Absence of high-rise buildings, trees etc, which may block the signal path.
2. Absence of interference by using a gun and a field meter.
3. Existence of AC power during installation.
4. Existence of a clear, unobstructed line of sight to the designated satellite
5. Acquisition of the longitude and latitude using GPS.
6. Existence of a LAN network near the IDU.
7. Estimation of the maximum cable length.
8. Free access to the roof of the building.

The IDU is designed for installation indoors. It may be placed on top of a bench or on a
shelf in a rack. While placing the IDU the following requirements should be met:
The IDU includes a fan for ventilation. To allow proper airflow and to guarantee safe
operation of the VSAT equipment, make sure that:
The rear panel of the IDU is not covered.
The IDU is not placed in an unventilated enclosure.
At least 10 cm of space along the IDU sides are left for ventilation. The
maximum ambient temperature is 50 oC.
Place the IDU where it can be easily accessed by a technician during maintenance.
Place the IDU away from electromagnetic field emitting devices.
 Historical View of the VSAT Market

1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 1999

HNS (MA/COM) 1st 2-way VSAT network 1st VSAT LAN network (Toys R
(Wal*Mart) Us)

AD/COM Sold to Scientific

Atlanta

Scientific Atlanta

Tridom Sold to AT&T

AT&T/Harris

AT&T/Tridom Sold to GE

Equatorial Sold to CONTEL

Comsat TP Sold to CONTEL

CONTEL Sold to GTE

GTE Spacenet NEC H/W Gilat H/W Sold to GE

GE/Spacenet Sold to Gilat

Gilat/Spacenet

Figure 1-Historical View of the VSAT Market

Network Systems (HNS) and Gilat/Spacenet control the majority of the VSAT
products and service market (Figure 2). The first two way VSAT network
was deployed by MA/COM which was subsequently acquired by Hughes
Network Systems. Since then, HNS has been a consistent presence in the
VSAT Industry. The mergers of another group of companies GTE Spacenet,
AT&T/Tridom, GE/Spacenet led to the emergence of Gilat/Spacenet

While the enormous capital investment made by both Gilat and HNS provide
a significant barrier to market entry, argument can be that market price
behavior in the VSAT market is very competitive rather than duopolistic.
Further pressures on prices is exerted by substitute technologies and will be
more fully discussed in later sections. For a complete example of the pitfalls
and realities of VSAT deployment, please turn to the appendix.
The VSAT Market

VSAT Market Share in 1998

HNS
47%

Gilat
40% Other
13%

Figure 2-VSAT Market Share

With the recent emergence of Gilat as a significant and strong contender, the
VSAT market is facing immense pressures on margin. This can be detected
by observing that officially, HNS and Gilat still practice 3rd degree pricing
discrimination, but because there are so many variables in the pricing
structure, they are able to charge different prices for each of their customers,
significantly enhancing revenues.

HNS, once having held significant market power, has been forced to
reevaluate it s market structure because of Gilat s relentless pursuit of
market share. This has resulted in the continual decline in the cost of VSAT
products and services with a commensurate increase in demand, both in
United States and globally.
Figure 3-The Demand Curve of VSAT Terminals

The Demand Curve of VSAT Terminals

5000
1997
4000
1998
3000
1999
2000
1000
0
58000 80500 115000
Quantity

With the rapidly rising demand for high-speed data and other
telecommunication services, the VSAT industry is facing a dramatic change
in pricing structures and service offerings. As reported by Comsys, the
demand for VSAT terminals has dramatically increased over the past few
years (Figure 4). The number of terminals deployed for the year 1998 were
80,000 with respect to 58,000 in 1997, which accounts for a compound annual
growth of 27% over the past three years. The Comsys 1999 VSAT report then
goes on to state that a total of 500,000 terminals are globally deployed.

We can derive the price elasticity of demand from the following:

η = %∆Q/%∆P = (∆Q/∆P) * (P/Q)

= (80,500-58,000) / (3500 - 4700) * (3500/80,500)
= -1.52

Since the absolute value of η is greater than 1, the price is elastic for the
above demand curve. This is further evidence that the market is competitive.

Figure 4-Annual VSAT Bookings

Annual VSAT Bookings

100000
80000
60000
Sites
40000
20000
0
VSATs Booked
1995 1996
1997
Year 1998
Proving that the market is competitive does not necessarily account for the
rate of growth enjoyed by the VSAT industry. What does? A consumer
survey3 places the technology s appeal in a more analytical light:

Reason For Selecting VSAT % of Respondents

Cost Savings 91%
Flexibility 84%
Reliability 80%
Data Rate Support 65%
No other svc met need 41%

"Our satellite network is a key competitive advantage. It's what lets us deliver
our reservations at the lowest cost in the entire hotel industry. Frame relay
would drive up annual costs by $2 million. We couldn't cost-justify switching
to another technology, even if we wanted to." Says Maybe Lynn Goodendorf,
director of telecommunications operations for Holiday Hospitality Corp.
(Holiday Hospitality is the corporate franchise for such hotels as Holiday Inn,
Crowne Plaza, and Sunspree.) This statement helps explain why Holiday
Hospitality Corp with its 2400-site network is sticking with VSAT s, despite
aggressive proposals from frame relay providers.

The case is far from unique. With increasing global trade, companies are
turning to VSAT to reach a particular location in mountainous terrain and
distant places, which prevent fiber or other lines from being laid cost-
effectively. And it s usually the only choice for the maritime and oil
industries.

The economic advantage of VSAT is not limited to usage. Unlike frame relay,
a VSAT network only has one piece of equipment to manage at the remote
site. Training and operational costs are significantly lower than a Unix based
system.

Figure 5-Annual Cost/Site of Alternatives

Annual Cost/Site

1.5/256K ASDL
1.5 M T-1
56K/128K Frame Realy
512/128 VSAT

56K Leased Line

$0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 $8,000

Cost/Site
VSAT services can help companies avoid the long provisioning delays
involved in the deployment of conventional leased lines. Depending on the
national PTT and the location of a network site, provisioning of leased lines
in some places can take six months or more. If a site is located far off the
beaten path, PTTs may even require their customers to pay some or all of the
expenses involved in running a leased line to that site. With VSAT service,
operators say they can establish working links in four weeks or less, with
installation charges limited to the cost of setting up the VSAT earth stations.
VSAT services also holds the promise of delivering more reliable connections
compared with conventional leased lines in many parts of the world.
Although VSAT transmissions can be adversely affected by environmental
conditions like rainstorms, availability generally is much greater than that of
conventional leased lines.

When it comes down to dollars, general cost comparisons between VSAT

services and their terrestrial equivalents reveal the striking advantages of the
technology. Charges for terrestrial services are distance dependent, while
VSAT connections cost the same whether sites are 1 or 1,000 miles apart.
VSAT customers can immediately enjoy economies of scale as networks
expand; most of the operator's fixed costs are located in the central hub which
is needed regardless of how many VSAT s are installed.

But what's most clear in terms of costs is that VSAT charges are coming
down--and fast. They're just a third of what they were a few years ago.
What's behind the price decline? Several factors, including reductions in
equipment prices and import tariffs, economies of scale as hubs handle
greater numbers of connections, efficiency improvements as operators gain
operational experience, and aggressive competion. VSAT operators as a rule
charge flat monthly tariffs--which is likely to be a welcome change for
customers tired of interpreting unpredictable, volume-based terrestrial
equivalents bills from PTTs and others.

Modeling U.S. VSAT Deployment

In order to understand the future of VSAT technology we will construct
a model of its present employment in the United States. The model is
based the hypothesis that VSAT employment is a monotonically decreasing,
piecewise linear function of population density. This model will be general
enough that global application should be possible, with the appropriate
adjustments for per capita income and the availability of substitutes.
Discussion is limited to VSAT data and video services offered in the United
States by the two principal players in the VSAT industry, Hughes Network
Systems, Inc. and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. These two companies
account for 88 % of the market. Telephony applications will be excluded from
this study as they are insignificant in the U.S4,5.

To support our thesis, we will examine the Hughes partial customer database
for hub based services as described in the Comsys 1999 VSAT report entitled
VSAT INDUSTRY STATUS REPORT TO CLIENTS: HUGHES NETWORK
SYSTEMS: American Services . This selection is made as the largest
application of VSAT is hub based data services6,7 and Hughes is the
acknowledged leader in hub services. Study of this data reveals that the
majority of users of hub services (1998) can be grouped into eight categories
as listed in table 2.

Category Installed
Retailers 35,402
Automotive Companies 2,825
Financial 1,736
Hospitality 1,587
Service Providers 1,561
SCADA 1,198
Telecom 542
Distance Learning 395
Table 1 : User Categories

Noting that retailers are the most prevalent group of users, which include
petroleum distributors, food and drug stores, it is easy to imagine that at
least one of these businesses will appear in relatively small towns. As the
time necessary to perform an adequate survey was not available, the data
will be simulated by postulating that at a population density of 500 per
square mile, there will be at least one VSAT user per jurisdiction. After this
point, we will model VSAT terminal population to scale linearly with
population density.

VSAT population density = A * Pd

A = scaling factor, b = y intercept
Pd = pop. density; Pd > 500 / mi2
on the previous model we note that there are significantly more than 100,000
business in the United States. According to the 1998 US Census8, there were
over 22.3 million corporations, partnerships and nonfarm proprietorships.
Even if we allow that only 30% of these entities have need for data services,
that number exceeds 100,000 by more than an order of magnitude. Therefor,
at some point, the VSAT density formula postulated in the preceding section
must fail.

One possible hypothesis can be generated by examining the other modalities

of data transport; due to the cost of infrastructure, the economic advantage of
VSAT is inversely dependent upon the distance from the point of application
to a population center. Perhaps, at a certain population density, sufficient
telecommunications infrastructure will exist and make VSAT much less
attractive. Data services with greater bandwidth, much lower latency and
lower cost become readily available. We will postulate that at a second
critical point of population density, VSAT employment begins to fall off. We
will we will use Madison, Wisconsin to test for a point of inflection in the
deployment function.

Madison is a rapidly growing, medium size city. It is the State capitol, home
of the University of Wisconsin and a number of large insurance companies,
all of which depend heavily upon electronic data systems. Madison is also
nearly 90 miles from Milwaukee and 200 miles from Chicago. This
convergence of distance to communications hubs and a strong need for data
services make Madison a good candidate for providing the second critical
point of the population density function. According the 1998 US Census9,
Madison had a population of 198,000 living in a space of 57.8 miles, yielding
an average population density of 3,400 / mi2.

To discover if this population density will yield a point of inflection in the

VSAT deployment function, we use the Hughes partial customer database10
again. By cross checking the Hughes database against the YAHOO.com
yellow pages for Madison, we can get an approximate VSAT terminal census.
The results of this survey are presented in table 2.
Table 2: VSAT Users In Madison, WI
Company Number of Sites in Madison, Wisconsin
Bed, Bath & Beyond 1
Best Western 3
Beverly Enterprises 1
Blockbuster 7
Consolidated Freight 1
Hughes Mall Services 10
Kohl s 3
Marathon Oil 1
Mobil Oil 7
NBC (affiliate station) 1
Pep Boys 2
Shell Oil 3
ShopKo 4
Target Stores 3
Texaco 4
TOTAL 51

We have assumed, for the purposes of the census that the VSAT penetration
rate for the businesses in Madison that correspond to the Hughes report, is
100%. Therefor we expect approximately 51 VSAT terminals inside of
Madison s borders. This corresponds to a VSAT density of

51 VSAT / 57.8 mi2

or
0.88 VSAT / mi2 at a population density of 3,400 / mi2

This can not be considered a point of inflection and was not anticipated. We
had expected that the demographics would force an increase in VSAT density
with increasing urbanization up to some point of infrastructure development.
We then anticipated a decreasing function that would asymptote, to some
number greater than zero because of point of sale (PoS) operations. To further
develop the model, a data point at the other extreme will be developed, New
York City.

.
 Company Number of Sites in New York, New York
Bed, Bath & Beyond 1
Best Western 1
3
Beverly Enterprises 4
0
Blockbuster 1
27
Consolidated Freight
13
Hughes Mall Services
13
Kohl s
0
Marathon Oil
1
Mobil Oil
5
NBC (affiliate station)
1
Pep Boys
78
Shell Oil
6
ShopKo
0
Target Stores
12
Texaco
73
TOTAL 233
Table 4: VSAT Users In New York, NY

This highly representative census yields 233 VSAT terminals inside of the
borders of New York City. According to the 1998 U.S. Census11, NYC had
7,381,000 inhabitants living on 308.9 mi2. This corresponds to a VSAT
density of
233 VSAT / 308.9 mi2
or
0.75 VSAT / mi2 at a population density of 23,900 / mi2

VSAT Employment vs. Population Density

1.1
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
500 3400 23900
Population Density

This leads us to a surprising conclusion that VSAT employment is a linearly

decreasing function of population density in the United States. The function
can be described by

VSAT / mi2 = -10.68 x 10-6 ( Pd) + 0.916

Where Pd = Population Density
 We have presented an argument that there is an anti-correlation between
VSAT density and population density. Clearly, the model suffers from a
paucity of data points; the census relies too much upon too few businesses
in too few locations. Another source of error is in the fuzzy definition of
jurisdiction. Despite all of these of errors, what can we infer from the data?
There is no doubt regarding the future of the VSAT industry growth is
typically quoted at a rate of 30% per year. First, we can say that for any
given locality, increasing urbanization or densification does not, at the
very least, strongly correlate to increased VSAT employment. VSAT
utilization must be driven by other trends.

By examining the key features of the VSAT technology, we can begin to

identify the socio-economic factors that are driving VSAT s rapid
growth:

1. Rapidly deployable telecommunications networks.

2. Network diameters of continental or global scale the marginal cost
of distance is essentially zero.
3. Freedom from terrestrial infrastructure development costs.
4. Freedom from PTT and ILEC interface requirements.

Two major trends in business require the communication technologies

that exhibit the aforementioned properties: globalization and growth by
acquisition and alliance. Behind the growing integration of the world
economy lies the decline in the costs of transport and communication.
Between 1930 and 1990 average revenue per mile in air transport fell
from
68 US cents to 11 cents, in 1990 dollars. The cost of a three-minute
telephone call between New York and London fell from $244.65 to $3.32.
Between 1960 and 1990, the cost of a unit of computing power fell 99 per
cent. This startling analysis was presented in a October 1, 1997 Financial
Times article12. While the reader is left to ponder the chicken and egg
nature of global business and technology, one thing is clear the end of the
20th century has given rise to the multi-national corporate business model.
Large business information networks have become, almost by definition,
global in scale.

Globalization can also be presented in an alternative light. Chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission, Bill Kennard, has said "We can't
afford to have in this country a digital Dark Ages where some people are just
cut off from all this technology There's a real danger in the country that
some Americans have all this wondrous technology and it makes them
smarter and more competitive in the workplace and others are left
behind 13" Without doubt, other PTT and communications bureau chiefs
have come to the same realization; access to communications technology for
all is essential to the economic well being of a country. Having access to
knowledge and markets can very well be the difference between a growing
economy and a backwater. Many of the developing countries face the double
burden of small GNP and formidable natural barriers. The combination
makes the development of standard telecommunications infrastructure
impossible. VSAT, with the capability of leaping tall mountain ranges in a
single bound, is a solution that is being exercised with greater regularity.
While telephony is a moot point for VSAT in the United States, it is not in
the rest of the world.

The last trend that requires the capabilities of VSAT is the concentration
of market power and scope by acquisition and merger.
Vodaphone/Mannesmann, Atlantic Telecom/Marconi, American Home
Products/Warner-Lambert, the list of mergers and acquisitions is large,
growing larger and is global in nature.

These ventures require rapid placement of global diameter

telecommunications networks. These networks must be dynamic as
suppliers, payroll and personnel, manufacturing locations and chains
of command change on almost an overnight basis.

We can see by examining the top ten customer list for Hughes and Gilat
that the common denominator is continental or larger network diameter.

Table 3-Top 10 Customer List for Hughes and Gilat

HNS' "Top 10" Customers GILAT'S "Top 10" Customers

Customers Application # of Sites Customers Application # of
Sites
EDS Data Services 10660 MCI/US Postal Service Postal Services 26,000
HOT Telecom Data Services 10062 GTECH W orldwide Lottery 11,500
Amoco Gas Station 6907 Alliance Data Systems Gas Stations 6500
Imps at Rural Telephony 6727 Telespazio Financial News 4850
Mobil Oil Gas Station 6496 Rite Aid Retail & Intranet 4300
Ford Automotive 6332 IBM/Peugeot-Citroen Automotive 4200
Chrysler Corporation Automotive 6322 ChinaSat et al Stock News 3800
Chevron Gas Station 5986 Telkom South Africa Rural Telephony 3000
Telecom Italia Data Services 4540 Pagenet Paging 3000
Texaco Star Gas Station 4135 National Stock Exchange Stock Trading 2100