VSAT

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by: NADEESH GUPTA 08-ECE-1177

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I feel immense pleasure to express my deepest sense of gratitude and indebtedness to my esteemed and honorable supervisor and DGM, Hub, Mr. Sanjeev Bajaj, for providing sagacious guidance, all sorts of assistance, fruitful discussions and motivation throughout the project work. I also would like to thank all the other employees of the department for their invaluable suggestions and encouragement during the course of the training. I would also like to thank Ms. Nidhi Sharma for coordinating and bearing with us during our project work period. I would also like to thank Mr. M. N. Vyas for providing me with an opportunity to train in his esteemed organization and completing my project work. I would also like to express my gratitude to my parents for providing constant guidance and support. Finally I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who provided me with guidance or support in any form direct or indirect in the completion of my work.

-Urvashi arora 08-ECE-1212

Contents

Introduction to VSAT C-Band and Ku-Band Constituent parts of VSAT Modulation Multiplexing Configuration HUB Station What Problems VSAT was Designed to Solve VSAT Applications How VSAT Interconnects with Other Media Pros and Cons of VSAT Future Applications Company Overview

VSAT

Introduction

SAT technology is a telecommunication system based on wireless satellite technology. The term 'VSAT' stands for 'Very Small Aperture Terminal'. As the definition itself indicates, VSAT technology is made up of a small satellite earth station and a typical antenna of 1.8 meter diameter. There are three components in a VSAT network. The first is called the Master Earth Station which is the network control center for the entire VSAT network. The configuration, monitoring and management of the VSAT network are done at this location.

The Master Earth Station also has a large six-meter antenna, a fully redundant electronics, self-contained backup power system, and a regulated air conditioning system. This Master Earth Station is manned 24 x 7 days throughout the year. The second component is the VSAT remote earth station. This is the hardware installed at the customer's premises that includes the outdoor unit (ODU), the indoor unit (IDU) and the interfacility link (IFL). The VSAT outdoor unit consists of a standard 1.8 meter offset feed antenna, a solid state amplifier (SSPA), a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), and a Feedhorn. The indoor unit is a VCR-sized unit that houses the communications electronics that includes interface with the customer's equipment such as computers or telephones. The IFL consists of coaxial cable that connects the outdoor unit to the indoor unit.

The third component of a VSAT network is the satellite itself. All signals sent between the VSAT earth stations are beamed through the satellite. The VSAT system uses a geostationary satellite, which is orbiting at 36,000 km above the ground.

The first commercial VSATs were C band (6 GHz) receive-only systems by Equatorial Communications using spread spectrum technology. More than 30,000 60 cm antenna systems were sold in the early 1980s. Equatorial later developed a C band (4/6 GHz) 2 way system using 1 m x 0.5 m antennas and sold about 10,000 units in 1984-85. In 1985, Schlumberger Oilfield Research co-developed the world's first Ku band (12-14 GHz) VSATs with Hughes Aerospace to provide portable network connectivity for oil field drilling and exploration units. Ku Band VSATs make up the vast majority of sites in use today for data or telephony applications. The largest VSAT network (more than 12,000 sites) was deployed by Spacenet and MCI for the US Postal Service.

C band
C band Frequency range NATO: 500 1000 MHz IEEE: 4 8 GHz

The C band is a name given to certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as a range of wavelengths of microwaves that are used for long-distance radio telecommunications. The IEEE C-band - and its slight variations - contains frequency ranges that are used for many satellite communications transmissions; by some Wi-Fi devices; by some cordless telephones; and by some weather radar systems. For satellite communications, the microwave frequencies of the C-band perform better in comparison with Ku band (11.2 GHz to 14.5 GHz) microwave frequencies, under adverse weather conditions, which are used by another large set of communication satellites.[1] The adverse weather conditions all have to do with moisture in the air, such as during rainfalls, thunderstorms, sleet storms, and snowstorms.

Ku band
Ku band Frequency range Related bands 12 to 18 GHz K-band

The Ku band (pronounced "kay-yoo") is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to "Kunder" (in the original German, "Kurz-unten", with the same meaning)in other words, the band directly below the K-band. In radar applications, it ranges from 12 to 18 GHz according to the formal definition of radar frequency band nomenclature in IEEE Standard 521-2002. [1][2] Ku band is primarily used for satellite communications, most notably NASA's Tracking Data Relay Satellite used for both space shuttle and ISS communications. Ku band satellites are also used for backhauls and particularly for satellite from remote locations back to a television network's studio for editing and broadcasting. The band is split into multiple segments that vary by geographical region by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). NBC was the first television network to uplink a majority of its affiliate feeds via Ku band in 1983. Some frequencies in this radio band are used for vehicle speed detection by law enforcement, especially in Europe.

Advantages Compared with C-band, Ku band is not similarly restricted in power to avoid interference with terrestrial microwave systems, and the power of its uplinks and downlinks can be increased. This higher power also translates into smaller receiving dishes and points out a generalization between a satellites transmission and a dishs size. As the power increases, the dishs size can decrease.[4] This is because the purpose of the dish element of the antenna is to collect the incident waves over an area and focus them all onto the antenna's actual receiving element, mounted in front of the dish (and

pointed back towards its face); if the waves are more intense, less of them need to be collected to achieve the same intensity at the receiving element. The Ku band also offers a user more flexibility. A smaller dish size and a Ku band systems freedom from terrestrial operations simplifies finding a suitable dish site. For the End users Ku band is generally cheaper and enables smaller antennas (both because of the higher frequency and a more focused beam).[5] Ku band is also less vulnerable to rain fade than the Ka band frequency spectrum. The satellite operator's Earth Station antenna do require more accurate position control when operating at Ku band than compared to C band. Position feedback accuracies are higher and the antenna may require a closed loop control system to maintain position under wind loading of the dish surface. Disadvantages There are, however, some disadvantages of Ku band system. Especially at frequencies higher than 10 GHz in heavy rain fall areas, a noticeable degradation occurs, due to the problems caused by and proportional to the amount of rainfall (commonly known as "rain fade").[6] This problem can be mitigated, however, by deploying an appropriate link budget strategy when designing the satellite network, and allocating a higher power consumption to compensate rain fade loss. The Ku band is not only used for television transmission, which some sources imply, but also very much for digital data transmission via satellites, and for voice/audio transmissions. The higher frequency spectrum of the Ku band is particularly susceptible to signal degradation, considerably more so than C-band satellite frequency spectrum. A similar phenomenon, called "snow fade" (where snow or ice accumulation significantly alters the focal point of a dish) can also occur during winter precipitation. Also, the Kuband satellites typically require considerably more power to transmit than the C-band satellites. Under both "rain fade" and "snow fade" conditions, Ka and Ku band losses can be marginally (but significantly) reduced using super-hydrophobic Lotus effect coatings.

Constituent parts of a VSAT configuration

Antenna Block upconverter (BUC) Low-noise block converter (LNB) Orthomode transducer (OMT) Interfacility Link Cable (IFL) Indoor unit (IDU)

All the outdoor parts on the dish are collectively called the ODU (Outdoor Unit), i.e. OMT to split signal between BUC and LNB. The IDU is effectively a Modem, usually with Ethernet port and 2 x F-connectors for the coax to BUC(Transmit) and from LNB (Receive). The Astra2Connect has an all-in-one OMT/BUC/LNA that looks like a QUAD LNB in shape and size which mounts on a regular TV sat mount. As a consequence it is only 500 mW compared with the normal 2W, thus is poorer in rain.

Antenna (radio)

Short wave "curtain" antenna (Moosbrunn, Austria)

An antenna (or aerial) is a transducer that transmits or receives electromagnetic waves. In other words, antennas convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical current, or vice versa. Antennas generally deal in the transmission and reception of radio waves, and are a necessary part of all radio equipment. Antennas are used in systems such as radio and television broadcasting, point-to-point radio communication, wireless LAN, cell phones, radar, and spacecraft communication. Antennas are most commonly employed in air or outer space, but can also be operated under water or even through soil and rock at certain frequencies for short distances. Physically, an antenna is an arrangement of one or more conductors, usually called elements in this context. In transmission, an alternating current is created in the elements by applying a voltage at the antenna terminals, causing the elements to radiate an electromagnetic field. In reception, the inverse occurs: an electromagnetic field from another source induces an alternating current in the elements and a corresponding voltage at the antenna's terminals. Some receiving antennas (such as parabolic and horn types) incorporate shaped reflective surfaces to collect the radio waves striking them and direct or focus them onto the actual conductive elements. The words antenna (plural: antennas[1]) and aerial are used interchangeably; but usually a rigid metallic structure is termed an antenna and a wire format is called an aerial. In the United Kingdom and other British English speaking areas the term aerial is more common, even for rigid types. The noun aerial is occasionally written with a diaeresis markarialin recognition of the original spelling of the adjective arial from which the noun is derived. Antennas have practical uses for the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals such as radio and television. In air, those signals travel very quickly and with a very low transmission loss. The signals are absorbed when moving through more conductive materials, such as concrete walls or rock. When encountering an interface, the waves are partially reflected and partially transmitted through. A common antenna is a vertical rod a quarter of a wavelength long. Such antennas are simple in construction, usually inexpensive, and both radiate in and receive from all horizontal directions (omnidirectional). One limitation of this antenna is that it does not radiate or receive in the direction in which the rod points. This region is called the antenna blind cone or null. There are two fundamental types of antenna directional patterns, which, with reference to a specific two dimensional plane (usually horizontal [parallel to the ground] or vertical [perpendicular to the ground]), are either:

1. Omni-directional (radiates equally in all directions), such as a vertical

rod (in the horizontal plane) or 2. Directional (radiates more in one direction than in the other).

Parameters There are several critical parameters affecting an antenna's performance that can be adjusted during the design process. These are resonant frequency, impedance, gain, aperture or radiation pattern, polarization, efficiency and bandwidth. Transmit antennas may also have a maximum power rating, and receive antennas differ in their noise rejection properties. All of these parameters can be measured through various means. Resonant frequency The "resonant frequency" and "electrical resonance" is related to the electrical length of an antenna. The electrical length is usually the physical length of the wire divided by its velocity factor (the ratio of the speed of wave propagation in the wire to c0, the speed of light in a vacuum). Typically an antenna is tuned for a specific frequency, and is effective for a range of frequencies that are usually centered on that resonant frequency. However, other properties of an antenna change with frequency, in particular the radiation pattern and impedance, so the antenna's resonant frequency may merely be close to the center frequency of these other more important properties. Antennas can be made resonant on harmonic frequencies with lengths that are fractions of the target wavelength; this resonance gives much better coupling to the electromagnetic wave, and makes the aerial act as if it were physically larger. Some antenna designs have multiple resonant frequencies, and some are relatively effective over a very broad range of frequencies. The most commonly known type of wide band aerial is the logarithmic or log periodic, but its gain is usually much lower than that of a specific or narrower band aerial. Gain Gain as a parameter measures the efficiency of a given antenna with respect to a given norm, usually achieved by modification of its directionality. An antenna with a low gain emits radiation with about the same power in all

directions, whereas a high-gain antenna will preferentially radiate in particular directions. Specifically, the Gain, Directive gain or Power gain of an antenna is defined as the ratio of the intensity (power per unit surface) radiated by the antenna in a given direction at an arbitrary distance divided by the intensity radiated at the same distance by a hypothetical isotropic antenna. The gain of an antenna is a passive phenomenon - power is not added by the antenna, but simply redistributed to provide more radiated power in a certain direction than would be transmitted by an isotropic antenna. If an antenna has a gain greater than one in some directions, it must have a gain less than one in other directions, since energy is conserved by the antenna. An antenna designer must take into account the application for the antenna when determining the gain. High-gain antennas have the advantage of longer range and better signal quality, but must be aimed carefully in a particular direction. Low-gain antennas have shorter range, but the orientation of the antenna is relatively inconsequential. For example, a dish antenna on a spacecraft is a high-gain device that must be pointed at the planet to be effective, whereas a typical Wi-Fi antenna in a laptop computer is low-gain, and as long as the base station is within range, the antenna can be in any orientation in space. It makes sense to improve horizontal range at the expense of reception above or below the antenna. Thus most antennas labeled "omnidirectional" really have some gain.[4] In practice, the half-wave dipole is taken as a reference instead of the isotropic radiator. The gain is then given in dBd (decibels over dipole): NOTE: 0 dBd = 2.15 dBi. It is vital in expressing gain values that the reference point be included. Failure to do so can lead to confusion and error.

Radiation pattern The radiation pattern of an antenna is the geometric pattern of the relative field strengths of the field emitted by the antenna. For the ideal isotropic antenna, this would be a sphere. For a typical dipole, this would be a toroid. The radiation pattern of an antenna is typically represented by a three dimensional graph, or polar plots of the horizontal and vertical cross sections. The graph should show sidelobes and backlobes, where the antenna's gain is at a minimum or maximum.

Polar plots of the horizontal cross sections of a (virtual) Yagi-Uda-antenna. Outline connects points with 3db field power compared to an ISO emitter. See Antenna measurement: Radiation pattern or Radiation pattern for more information.

Impedance As an electro-magnetic wave travels through the different parts of the antenna system (radio, feed line, antenna, free space) it may encounter differences in impedance (E/H, V/I, etc.). At each interface, depending on the impedance match, some fraction of the wave's energy will reflect back to the source,[5] forming a standing wave in the feed line. The ratio of maximum power to minimum power in the wave can be measured and is called the standing wave ratio (SWR). A SWR of 1:1 is ideal. A SWR of 1.5:1 is considered to be marginally acceptable in low power applications where power loss is more critical, although an SWR as high as 6:1 may still be usable with the right equipment. Minimizing impedance differences at each

interface (impedance matching) will reduce SWR and maximize power transfer through each part of the antenna system. Complex impedance of an antenna is related to the electrical length of the antenna at the wavelength in use. The impedance of an antenna can be matched to the feed line and radio by adjusting the impedance of the feed line, using the feed line as an impedance transformer. More commonly, the impedance is adjusted at the load (see below) with an antenna tuner, a balun, a matching transformer, matching networks composed of inductors and capacitors, or matching sections such as the gamma match.

Efficiency Efficiency is the ratio of power actually radiated to the power put into the antenna terminals. A dummy load may have an SWR of 1:1 but an efficiency of 0, as it absorbs all power and radiates heat but not RF energy, showing that SWR alone is not an effective measure of an antenna's efficiency. Radiation in an antenna is caused by radiation resistance which can only be measured as part of total resistance including loss resistance. Loss resistance usually results in heat generation rather than radiation, and reduces efficiency. Mathematically, efficiency is calculated as radiation resistance divided by total resistance.

Bandwidth The bandwidth of an antenna is the range of frequencies over which it is effective, usually centered on the resonant frequency. The bandwidth of an antenna may be increased by several techniques, including using thicker wires, replacing wires with cages to simulate a thicker wire, tapering antenna components (like in a feed horn), and combining multiple antennas into a single assembly and allowing the natural impedance to select the correct antenna. Small antennas are usually preferred for convenience, but there is a fundamental limit relating bandwidth, size and efficiency. Polarization The polarization of an antenna is the orientation of the electric field (Eplane) of the radio wave with respect to the Earth's surface and is determined by the physical structure of the antenna and by its orientation. It has nothing in common with antenna directionality terms: "horizontal",

"vertical" and "circular". Thus, a simple straight wire antenna will have one polarization when mounted vertically, and a different polarization when mounted horizontally. "Electromagnetic wave polarization filters" are structures which can be employed to act directly on the electromagnetic wave to filter out wave energy of an undesired polarization and to pass wave energy of a desired polarization. Reflections generally affect polarization. For radio waves the most important reflector is the ionosphere - signals which reflect from it will have their polarization changed unpredictably. For signals which are reflected by the ionosphere, polarization cannot be relied upon. For line-of-sight communications for which polarization can be relied upon, it can make a large difference in signal quality to have the transmitter and receiver using the same polarization; many tens of dB difference are commonly seen and this is more than enough to make the difference between reasonable communication and a broken link. Polarization is largely predictable from antenna construction but, especially in directional antennas, the polarization of side lobes can be quite different from that of the main propagation lobe. For radio antennas, polarization corresponds to the orientation of the radiating element in an antenna. A vertical omnidirectional Wi-Fi antenna will have vertical polarization (the most common type). An exception is a class of elongated waveguide antennas in which vertically placed antennas are horizontally polarized. Many commercial antennas are marked as to the polarization of their emitted signals. Polarization is the sum of the E-plane orientations over time projected onto an imaginary plane perpendicular to the direction of motion of the radio wave. In the most general case, polarization is elliptical, meaning that the polarization of the radio waves varies over time. Two special cases are linear polarization (the ellipse collapses into a line) and circular polarization (in which the two axes of the ellipse are equal). In linear polarization the antenna compels the electric field of the emitted radio wave to a particular orientation. Depending on the orientation of the antenna mounting, the usual linear cases are horizontal and vertical polarization. In circular polarization, the antenna continuously varies the electric field of the radio wave through all possible values of its orientation with regard to the Earth's surface. Circular polarizations, like elliptical ones, are classified as right-hand polarized or left-hand polarized using a "thumb in the direction of the propagation" rule. Optical researchers use the same rule of thumb, but pointing it in the direction of the emitter, not in the direction of propagation, and so are opposite to radio engineers' use.

In practice, regardless of confusing terminology, it is important that linearly polarized antennas be matched, lest the received signal strength be greatly reduced. So horizontal should be used with horizontal and vertical with vertical. Intermediate matchings will lose some signal strength, but not as much as a complete mismatch. Transmitters mounted on vehicles with large motional freedom commonly use circularly polarized antennas so that there will never be a complete mismatch with signals from other sources.

Transmission and reception All of the antenna parameters are expressed in terms of a transmission antenna, but are identically applicable to a receiving antenna, due to reciprocity. Impedance, however, is not applied in an obvious way; for impedance, the impedance at the load (where the power is consumed) is most critical. For a transmitting antenna, this is the antenna itself. For a receiving antenna, this is at the (radio) receiver rather than at the antenna. Tuning is done by adjusting the length of an electrically long linear antenna to alter the electrical resonance of the antenna. Antenna tuning is done by adjusting an inductance or capacitance combined with the active antenna (but distinct and separate from the active antenna). The inductance or capacitance provides the reactance which combines with the inherent reactance of the active antenna to establish a resonance in a circuit including the active antenna. The established resonance being at a frequency other than the natural electrical resonant frequency of the active antenna. Adjustment of the inductance or capacitance changes this resonance. Antennas used for transmission have a maximum power rating, beyond which heating, arcing or sparking may occur in the components, which may cause them to be damaged or destroyed. Raising this maximum power rating usually requires larger and heavier components, which may require larger and heavier supporting structures. This is a concern only for transmitting antennas, as the power received by an antenna rarely exceeds the microwatt range. Antennas designed specifically for reception might be optimized for noise rejection capabilities. An antenna shield is a conductive or low reluctance structure (such as a wire, plate or grid) which is adapted to be placed in the vicinity of an antenna to reduce, as by dissipation through a resistance or by conduction to ground, undesired electromagnetic radiation, or electric or magnetic fields, which are directed toward the active antenna from an

external source or which emanate from the active antenna. Other methods to optimize for noise rejection can be done by selecting a narrow bandwidth so that noise from other frequencies is rejected, or selecting a specific radiation pattern to reject noise from a specific direction, or by selecting a polarization different from the noise polarization, or by selecting an antenna that favors either the electric or magnetic field. For instance, an antenna to be used for reception of low frequencies (below about ten megahertz) will be subject to both man-made noise from motors and other machinery, and from natural sources such as lightning. Successfully rejecting these forms of noise is an important antenna feature. A small coil of wire with many turns is more able to reject such noise than a vertical antenna. However, the vertical will radiate much more effectively on transmit, where extraneous signals are not a concern.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANTENNA Parabolic antenna They use parabolic reflectors. The parabola is a plane curve, defined as the locus of the point which moves so that its distance from another point (called the focus) plus its distance from straight line (directrix is constant). These geometric properties yield an excellent microwave or light reflector. Consider a source of radiation placed at the focus. All waves coming from the source and reflected by parabola will have the same distance by the time they reach the directrix, no matter from what point of parabola they are reflected. All such waves will be in phase. As a result, radiation is very strong and concentrated. A practical reflector employing the properties of parabola will be three dimensional bowled shaped surfaces. The reflector provides a high gain because, like the mirror of a reflecting telescope, it collects radiation from a large area and concentrates it all at the focal point. The directional pattern of an antenna using a paraboidal reflector has a very sharp main lobe, surrounded by a number of minor lobes which are much smaller. The three dimensional shape of the main lobe is that like of a flat cigar. The gain of the antenna is influenced by the aperture ratio and the

uniformity of the illumination. If the Antenna is lossless, the power gain is given by A=6 (D/) (D/) Feeding mechanisms The primary antenna is placed at the focus of the paraboloid for best results in transmission or reception. The direct radiation from the feed which is not reflected by the paraboloid tends to spread out in all directions and partially spoil s the directivity. One of the feeding methods is Cassegrain feed which uses a hyperboloid secondary reflector. One of its foci coincides with the focus of the paraboloid. The rays emitted from the feed horn antenna are reflected from the paraboloid mirror. The effect on the main paraboloid reflector being the same as that of the feed antenna at the focus, the main reflector then collimates the rays. This feed is used when it is desired to place the primary antenna at the convenient position and to shorten the length of the transmission line or waveguide connecting the receiver to the primary. Another method is to use the small dipole array at the focus such as-Yagi uda or an end-fire array pointing at the paraboloid reflector. We can also use the horn antenna pointing at the main reflector.

Horn Antenna The waveguide is capable of radiating energy into open space if it is suitably excited at one end and open at the other. When waveguide is terminated by a horn it becomes a horn antenna. Provided that impedance matching is correct, all the energy traveling forward in the waveguide is radiated. Directivity will also be improved and diffraction is reduced. There are several possible horn configurations: three of the most common are sectoral, pyramidal and circular. The sectoral horn flares out in one direction only and is equivalent of the pillbox parabolic reflector. The pyramidal horn flares out in both the directions and has a shape of truncated pyramid. The conical horn is similar to it and thus a logical termination for a circular waveguide. If the flare angle is too small, resulting in a shallow

horn, the wavefront leaving the horn will be spherical rather than plane and the radiated beam will not be reflected. The horn antenna is not nearly as directive as antenna with parabolic reflector, but it does have directivity, adequate bandwidth and simple mechanical construction. It is a very convenient antenna to use with a waveguide.

The Quarter Wave Vertical Antenna

The quarter wave vertical antenna is usually simple to construct and erect although I know a great many people who would dispute that statement. In this context I am speaking of people (in majority) who have limited space to erect an antenna. In figure 1 we have depicted that a quarter wave vertical antenna with drooping radials which would be 45 degrees from horizontal. These 45 degrees drooping radials simulate a artificial ground and lead to an antenna impedance of about 50 ohms. A quarter wave vertical antenna could also be erected directly on ground and indeed many AM radio transmitting towers accomplish this especially where there is suitable marshy ground noted for good conductivity. An AM wave transmitting tower of quarter wave length erected for say 810 KHz in the AM band would have a length of nearly 88 meters (288) in height. The formula for quarter wave is L=71.25 meters/Freq (MHz) and in feet L=234 freq (MHz). Note the variance from the standard wavelength formula of 300/freq. this is because we allow for velocity factor of 5% and our wavelength formula becomes 285/freq. When a quarter wave antenna is erected and worked as a good RF ground (called a Marconi antenna) the earth provides a mirror image of the missing half of the desired half wave antenna. In figure above where I have depicted a Marconi antenna imagine a duplicate of a quarter wave antenna being in existence from the top of the ground and extending down the page. This is a mirror image. Half wave dipole antenna

The half wave dipole antenna becomes quite common where space permits. It can be erected vertically but it is often than not erected horizontally for practical reasons. I gave quite a good example, of its use in my paper on radio telescopes for my original site. I have produced it in figure 3. The particular antenna was dimensioned for use at 30 MHz you will notice that the left and right wave halves are merely quarter wave sections determined by the formula given earlier. The input impedance (affected by many factors) is nominally 50 ohms. As with all antenna the height above ground and proximity to other objects such as buildings, trees, guttering etc. play an important part. However reality says we must live with what we can achieve in real world not withstanding what theory may say. People erect half wave dipoles in attics constructed of fine gauge wire- far from ideal but they get reasonable results by living with less than ideal.

A Folded Dipole Antenna

The folded dipole antenna is probably ever seen TV antenna for multi channel use. It exhibits a impedance of 300 ohms whereas a half wave dipole is 75 ohms and Im certain someone is alert enough to ask why 75 ohms if the figure above 50 ohms. Within the limits of my artistic skills I have depicted a dipole antenna below. One powerful advantage of folded dipole antenna is that it has a wide bandwidth, in fact a one octave bandwidth. This is a reason it is often used as TV antenna for multi channel use. Folded dipole antennas are mainly used with Yagi antennas.

Yagi Antennas

The Yagi antenna or more correctly- a Yagi uda antenna was developed by Japanese scientists in 1930s. it consist of a half wave dipole, a rear reflector and may or may not have one or more forward directors. These are collectively referred to as elements. In figure above I have reprinted a UHF Yagi antenna array from my radio telescopes page. You will note, not altogether clearly. However in figure 6 below which happens to be a photograph of neighbors TV antenna, I can clearly point out details of a practical Yagi antenna. This particular antenna has been optimized for dual band operation. It is designed to pick up both VHF and UHF transmissions. Looking from left to right on this dual band Yagi we have six UHF elements which improves gain and directivity. Next is the UHF half wave dipole which could have easily been a folded dipole but it is a plain half wave dipole. The next three much stronger elements form a phased array of the VHF band. I am unsure of the function of the three remaining smaller elements, information is quite scant here but one would certainly be a UHF reflector. Likely the other two fulfill this function also. You will notice that the effect of very strong storms from the sea have had in bending the second larger elements.

UHF Yagi Antenna

In figure below you can see a classy UHF Yagi antenna. It has a total of nineteen elements comprising of seventeen directors, afancy folded dipole with a low noise mast head amplifier and a reflector. This is a vertically polarized UHF Yagi antenna and it is orientated WSW or 225 degrees. It does in fact pick signals about 100 km or 60 miles distance from Sydney. This is a very same antenna 1 was suggesting to be used in the radio telescope array 1depicted in figure 5 above.
Loop Antennas

The loop antennas come in a amazing number of configurations. Its a small space antenna and although extremely inefficient is capable of surprising results. In receiving applications the loop antenna work on the principle of differences voltages induced by the current flowing in the sides of antenna. As you might imagine these different voltages can be extremely minute in amplitude and loop antenna usually requires a associated amplifier capable of at least 25 dB power gain following it. One example of the shielded loop antenna is taken from my tutorial on mobius winding techniques is shown in figure 9 below. This is the general loop antenna which has one interesting characteristics. It responds well to signal arriving in one direction, either from left hand side of your computer screen or the right hand side of your computer screen for the loop shown in figure 9b) above. Signals from either your face or from behind your monitor would produce equal signal currents from both sides of loop and consequently produce no difference voltage output. Technically speaking, a loop antenna responds to a magnetic field rather than magnetic field. Rather than being Omni-directional a loop antenna responds to the cosine of the angle its face and direction of arrival of the electromagnetic wave. This actually produces a figure eight pattern which for receiving presents no problem. The addition of a small whip antenna in conjunction with proper phasing allows the direction ambiguity to be resolved and we have a antenna relatively ideal for direction finding. The most common loop antenna that you will encounter is the loop stick antenna built into portable receivers. In figure 10 BELOW IS THE AM AND short wave loop stick antenna in a Sanyo model RP2127 MW/SW receiver (its fold). The AM wave and short wave loop stick antenna is located in the upper half under the words loop stick antenna. For greater efficiency and size reduction, a loop stick antenna is wound on a ferrite rod. This particular one happens to be circular but you may encounter ones which are rectangular. As an experiment you might, if you have a loop stick antenna radio available, tune to a weak station and rotate the radio round 360 degrees. You should note two points 180 degree apart where the signal seem to be

strongest and similarly notice two other points 180 degrees apart where the signals seem to be weakest, these are called nulls. This is aid to radio direction finding-RDF. Terminated Tilted Folded Type Now here is little gem. The terminated tilted folded dipole is bound to give a rush of blood to the head of any avid DXer (that means long distance-dxreceive/transmit enthusiast). The terminated tilted folded dipole is somewhat similar to the half wave folded dipole in fig 4 above yet the claim for its performance is quite astonishing. The terminated tilted folded dipole claim to have a bandwidth of something like 5or 6 to one, being extensively tested and adopted by the US navy, easily constructible from readily available material and has a feed point impedance of around 300 ohms.

Mutual impedance and interaction between antennas Mutual impedance between parallel dipoles not staggered. Curves Re and Im are the resistive and reactive parts of the impedance. Current circulating in any antenna induces currents in all others. One can postulate a mutual impedance between two antennas that has the same significance as the in ordinary coupled inductors. The mutual impedance between two antennas is defined as:

where is the current flowing in antenna 1 and is the voltage that would have to be applied to antenna 2with antenna 1 removedto produce the current in the antenna 2 that was produced by antenna 1.

From this definition, the currents and voltages applied in a set of coupled antennas are:

Where:

is the voltage applied to the antenna i is the impedance of antenna i is the mutual impedance between antennas i and j

Note that, as is the case for mutual inductances,

This is a consequence of Lorentz reciprocity. If some of the elements are not fed (there is a short circuit instead a feeder cable), as is the case in television antennas (Yagi-Uda antennas), the corresponding are zero. Those elements are called parasitic elements. Parasitic elements are unpowered elements that either reflect or absorb and reradiate RF energy. In some geometrical settings, the mutual impedance between antennas can be zero. This is the case for crossed dipoles used in circular polarization antennas.

structure, enclosure (if any), etc. in addition to the purely functional components.

"Rabbit ears" dipole antenna for television reception

Cell phone base station antennas

Yagi antenna used for mobile military communications station, Dresden, Germany, 1955

"Turnstile" type transmitting Folded dipole antenna antenna for commercial radio broadcasting station, Germany.

A vertical mast radiator, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Parabolic antenna for communicating with spacecraft, Canberra, Australia

Large Yagi antenna used by amateur radio hobbyist

Block upconverter

BUC: Block upconverter, Ku band Top: Hughes 1 Watt Bottom: Andrew 2 watt BUC Swedish microwave LNB

A block upconverter (BUC) is used in the transmission (uplink) of satellite signals. It converts a band (or "block") of frequencies from a lower frequency to a higher frequency. Modern BUCs convert from the L band to Ku band, C band and Ka band. Older BUCs convert from a 70 MHz intermediate frequency (IF) to Ku band or C band.

BUC: Block upconverter, Ku band 1.2 Andrew dish assembly

Most BUCs use phase-locked loop local oscillators and require an external 10 MHz frequency reference to maintain the correct transmit frequency. BUCs used in remote locations are often 2 or 4 W in the Ku band and 5 W in the C band. The 10 MHz reference frequency is usually sent on the same feedline as the main carrier. Many smaller BUCs also get their DC current over the feedline, using an internal DC block. BUCs are generally used in conjunction with low-noise block converters (LNB). The BUC, being an up-converting device, makes up the "transmit" side of the system, while the LNB is the down-converting device and makes up the "receive" side. An example of a system utilizing both a BUC and an LNB is a VSAT system, used for bidirectional internet access via satellite. The block upconverter is assembled with the LNB in association with an OMT, orthogonal mode transducer to the feed-horn that faces the reflector parabolic dish.

Low-noise block converter

Ku-band LNB with both sides uncovered.

A low-noise block converter (LNB, for low-noise block, sometimes LNC, for low-noise converter, or, rarely, LND for low-noise downconverter) is the (receiving, or downlink) antenna of what is commonly called the parabolic satellite dish commonly used for satellite TV reception. It is functionally equivalent to the dipole antenna used for most other TV reception purposes, although it is actually waveguide based. Whereas the dipole antenna is unable to adapt itself to various polarization planes without being rotated, the LNB can be switched electronically between horizontal and vertical polarization reception. The LNB is usually fixed on or in the satellite dish, for the reasons outlined below. The corresponding component in the uplink transmit link is called a Block upconverter (BUC). Satellites use comparatively high radio frequencies to transmit their signals.

LNBF disassembled (All Parts)

As microwave satellite signals do not easily pass through walls, roofs, or even glass windows, satellite antennas are required to be outdoors, and the signal needs to be passed indoors via cables. When radio signals are sent through coaxial cables, the higher the frequency, the more losses occur in the cable per unit of length. The signals used for satellite are of such high frequency (in the multiple gigahertz range) that special (costly) cable types or waveguides would be required and any significant length of cable leaves very little signals left on the receiving end. The purpose of the LNB is to use the superheterodyne principle to take a wide block (or band) of relatively high frequencies, amplify and convert them to similar signals carried at a much lower frequency (called intermediate frequency or IF). These lower frequencies travel through cables with much less attenuation of the signal, so there is much more signal left on the

satellite receiver end of the cable. It is also much easier and cheaper to design electronic circuits to operate at these lower frequencies, rather than the very high frequencies of satellite transmission. The low-noise part means that special electronic engineering techniques are used, that the amplification and mixing takes place before cable attenuation and that the block is free of additional electronics like a power supply or a digital receiver. This all leads to a signal which has less noise (unwanted signals) on the output than would be possible with less stringent engineering. Generally speaking, the higher the frequencies with which an electronic component has to operate, the more critical it is that noise be controlled. If low-noise engineering techniques were not used, the sound and picture of satellite TV would be of very low quality, if it could even be received at all without a much larger dish reflector. The low-noise quality of an LNB is expressed as the noise figure or noise temperature. For the reception of wideband satellite television carriers, typically 27 MHz wide, the accuracy of the frequency of the LNB local oscillator need only be in the order of 500 kHz, so low cost dielectric oscillators (DRO) may be used. For the reception of narrow bandwidth carriers or ones using advanced modulation techniques, such as 16-QAM, highly stable and low phase noise LNB local oscillators are required. These use an internal crystal oscillator or an external 10 MHz reference from the indoor unit and a phase-locked loop (PLL) oscillator.

Ku-band linear-polarized LNBF

Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) dishes use an LNBF (LNB with feedhorn), which integrates the antenna feedhorn with the low noise block converter (LNB). Small diplexers are often used to distribute the resulting IF signal (usually 950 to 1450 MHz) piggybacked in the same coaxial cable jacket which carries lower-frequency terrestrial television from an outdoor antenna. Another diplexer then separates the signals to the receiver of the TV set, and the integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) of the DBS set-top box. Newer Ka band systems use additional IF blocks from the LNBF, one of which will cause interference to UHF and cable TV frequencies above 250 MHz, precluding the use of diplexers. The other block is higher than the original, up to 2.5 GHz, requiring the LNB to be connected to high-quality all-copper RG-6/U cables. This is in addition to higher electrical power and electrical current requirements for multiple dual-band LNBFs. For some satellite Internet and free-to-air (FTA) signals, a universal LNB (Ku band) is recommended. Most North American DBS signals use circular polarization, instead of linear polarization, therefore requiring a different LNB type for proper reception. In this case, the polarization must be adjusted between clockwise and counterclockwise, rather than horizontal and vertical. In the case of DBS, the voltage supplied by the set-top box to the LNB determines the polarization setting. With multi-TV systems, a dual LNB allows both to be selected at once by a switch, which acts as a distribution amplifier. The amplifier then passes the proper signal to each box according to what voltage each has selected. The newest systems may select polarization and which LNBF to use by sending DiSEqC codes instead. The oldest satellite systems actually powered a rotating antenna on the feedhorn, at a time when there was typically only one LNB or LNA on a very large TVRO dish. Universal LNB A universal LNB can receive both polarizations (Vertical and Horizontal) and the full range of frequencies in the satellite Ku band. Some models can receive both polarizations simultaneously (known as a Quattro LNB and used with a multiswitch) through four different connectors Low/Hor, Low/Ver, High/Hor, High/Ver, and others are switchable (using 13 volt for Vertical and 17 or 18 volt for Horizontal) or fully adjustable in their polarisation (this is relatively rare as this requires a separate polarisor, and it's also not part of the Universal LNB specification).

Here is an example of Universal LNB specifications:

LO: 9.75 / 10.6 (or rarely 10.75) GHz (the 10.6 GHz Oscillator is selected by applying a 22 kHz tone to the cable) Freq: 10.7 - 12.75 GHz (slightly wider for 10.75 GHz LOs) NF: 0.7 dB Polarisation: Linear

Standard North America Ku-band LNB

By covering a smaller frequency range an LNB with a better noise figure can be produced. Pay TV operators can also supply a single fixed polarization LNBF to save a small amount of expense. Here is an example of a standard linear LNB:

Local oscillator: 10.75 GHz Frequency: 11.7-13.2 GHz Noise figure: 1 dB typical Polarization: Linear

North America DBS LNB Here is an example of an LNB used for DBS:

Local oscillator: 11.25 GHz Frequency: 12.2-12.7 GHz Noise figure: 0.7 dB Polarization: Circular

C-band LNB Here is an example of a North American C-band LNB:

Local oscillator: 5.15 GHz Frequency: 3.4-4.2 GHz Noise figure: ranges from 25 to 100 kelvins (uses Kelvin ratings as opposed to dB rating). Polarization: Linear

Dual/Quad/Octo LNBs Two or four or eight LNBs are in one unit to enable use of multiple receivers on one dish. {Note: In the UK, the term "dual" is reserved for LNBs having

two feedhorns, such as the Monobloc type. The term "twin-output" is used for an LNB having two independent outputs.} Quattro LNBs A Quattro LNB is a special type of LNB, used in shared installation, using one or more multiswitches to deliver signals to any number of receivers. It has four outputs, but those cannot (sensibly) be connected to receivers directly. Instead each of them supplies only 1/4 of the available channels (Lo/Hi band and H/V polarization) to a [multiswitch] or an array of [multiswitches], which then supply individual receivers like a normal LNB output would. Note again the difference between a quad (or double twin) and a Quattro. A Quattro LNB has four independent outputs, each of them has a separate switch for band/polarization. A quad LNB can drive four receivers directly. Monoblock LNBs A Monoblock LNB (also spelled "monoblock") is a unit consisting of two LNBs and is designed to receive satellites spaced close together, generally 6. For example in parts of Europe, monoblocks designed to receive the Hot Bird and Astra 19.2E satellites are popular because they enable reception of both satellites on a single dish without requiring an expensive and noisy rotator. A similar advantage is provided by the Duo LNB for simultaneous reception of signals from both the Astra 23.5E and Astra 19.2E positions. Cold temperatures It is possible for an LNB to physically freeze due to ice build-up in very low temperatures, obscuring the signal. This is only likely to occur when the LNB is not receiving power from the satellite receiver (i.e. no programmes are being watched). To combat this, many satellite receivers provide an option to keep the LNB powered while the receiver is on standby. In fact most LNBs are kept powered because this helps to stabilise the temperature and, thereby, the local oscillator frequency. In the case of UK BSkyB receivers, the LNB remains powered in Standby so that the receiver can receive firmware updates and Electronic Programme Guide updates. In the United States the LNB connected to Dish TV receivers remains powered as well as those receivers receive software and firmware update and Electronic Program Guide information over the air at night.

Orthomode transducer

Orthomode transducer, VSAT Ku band

Orthomode transducer (Portenseigne, France)

Orthomode transducer, vertical and horizontal polarity

Antenna side of OMT An orthomode transducer is a microwave duct component of the class of microwave circulators. It is commonly referred to as an OMT, and commonly referred as a polarisation duplexer. Such device may be part of a VSAT antenna feed Orthomode transducers serve either to combine or to separate two microwave signal paths. One of the paths forms the uplink, which is

transmitted over the same waveguide as the received signal path or downlink path. For VSAT modems the transmission and reception paths are at 90 to each other, or in other words, the signals are orthogonally polarised with respect to each other. This orthogonal shift between the two signal paths provides approximately an isolation of 40dB in the Ku band and Ka band radio frequency bands. Hence this device serves in an essential role as the junction element of the outdoor, unit (ODU) of a VSAT modem. It protects the receiver front-end element (the low-noise block converter, LNB) from burn-out by the power of the output signal generated by the block up converter (BUC). The BUC is also connected to the feed horn through a wave guide port of the OMT junction device. Orthomode transducers are used in dual-polarised Very small aperture terminals VSAT, in sparsely populated areas, radar antennas, radiometers, and communications links. They are usually connected to the antenna's down converter or LNB and to the High Power Amplifier (HPA) attached to a transmitting antenna. Wherever there are two polarizations of radio signals (Horizontal and Vertical), the transmitted and received radio signal to and fro the antenna are said to be orthogonal. This means that the modulation planes of the two radio signal waves are at 90 degrees angles to each other. The OMT device is used to separate two equal frequency signals, of high and low signal power. Protective separation is essential as the transmitter unit would seriously damage the very sensitive low (V) micro-voltage, front-end receiver amplifier unit at the antenna. The transmission signal of the up-link, of relatively high power (1, 2, or 5 watts for common VSAT equipment) originating from BUC,(block up converter) and the very low power received signal power (-volts) coming from the antenna (aerial) to the LNB receiver unit, in this case are at an angle of 90 relative to each other, are both coupled together at the feedhorn focal-point of the Parabolic antenna. The device that unites both up-link and down-link paths, which are at 90 to each other, is known as an Orthogonal Mode Transducer OMT. In the VSAT Ku band of operation case, a typical OMT Orthomode Transducer provides a 40dB isolation between each of the connected radio ports to the feed horn that faces the parabolic dish reflector (40dB means that only 0.01% of the transmitter's output power is cross-fed into the receiver's wave guide port). The port facing the parabolic reflector of the

antenna is a circular polarizing port so that horizontal and vertical polarity coupling of inbound and outbound radio signal is easily achieved. The 40dB isolation provides essential protection to the very sensitive receiver amplifier against burn out from the relatively high-power signal of the transmitter unit. Further isolation may be obtained by means of selective radio frequency filtering to achieve an isolation of 100dB (100dB means that only a 1010 fraction of the transmitter's output power is cross-fed into the wave guide port of the receiver). The second image demonstrates two types of outdoor units, a 1-watt Hughes unit and a composite configuration of a 2-watt BUC/OMT/LNB Andrew, Swedish Microwave units. The following images show a Portenseigne & Hirschman Ku band configuration, that highlights the horizontal the vertical, and circular polarized wave-guide ports that join to the Feed-horn, the LNB or BUC elements of an outdoor unit.

Interfacility Link Cable (IFL) An Inter-Facility Link (IFL) is the set of coaxial cables that connect the indoor equipment to the outdoor equipment of a satellite earth station. In a VSAT terminal, the IFL is usually one or two co-axial cables carrying IF signals, control signal, and DC power.

Indoor Unit (IDU) The Indoor Unit (IDU) is the component of the VSAT terminal that is located indoors. It is usually the satellite router. The IDU is connected to the Outdoor Unit (ODU) via Inter-Facility Link (IFL) cables

The VSAT Transceiver Transceivers are the radios that transmit the signal from the earth station up to the satellite. Small antennas transmitting high bandwidth require powerful transceivers; larger antennas with smaller bandwidth require less power. Transceivers are sold by their power rating; our existing clients use transceivers in the range from 5 watts to 60 watts. The choice is also influenced by the strength of the satellite signal at the clients location in addition to the bandwidth and antenna size. We recommend transceivers from Anacom or Codan. Both companies offer a full range of transceivers in all sizes. Both manufacturers offer advantages over the each other.

Mounted Codan Transceiver

Codans separate packaging of the Amplifier, power supply and the converter allows less heat to be conducted to the converter lowering the chance of failure.

Anacoms C-Band Transceiver Anacom has the entire transceiver mounted in a single unit making it simpler to install on the antenna.

The VSAT Modem

The modem at one teleport communicates directly with the modem at our clients location. Although most modems are compatible with each other, we try to make it a rule that the modem type at our clients teleport is of the same type that we use in Miami.

Often we have to instruct technicians who are not familiar with the modem how to set it up. It is easier to accomplish this if both Paradise P300 Shown with cover sets of technicians are using identical removed equipment. We work with a wide range of modem types; Paradise, Datum, EF Data and

Comstream are the most common. The client who has already purchased modems before coming to us often determines the choice of modem. Modems have a host of features that can cause their price to jump by a factor of three if the more exotic choices are made. It is important that the modem features are matched to the needs of the satellite; incorrect modem settings can lead to the client paying a premium for the monthly cost of space segment.

VoIP Equipment

The largest family of VoIP routers is the Cisco 5300 series. The 5300 can be configured for 4 T1 or 4 E1 digital lines and are perfect for high volume digital environments, such as telephone companies. The 5350 has a maximum capacity of 8 E1 or 8 T1 connections. The majority of our clients operate Cyber Cafs with 8 to 16 analog telephone lines. In this case the Cisco product is unsuitable, instead we recommend the Quintum Tenor A800 VoIP Gateway. Quintum will connect directly to analog lines. These units are reliable and relatively easy to configure. If the bandwidth is sized correctly the voice quality is excellent using either Cisco or Quintum products.

Modulation
In electronics, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a high frequency periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with respect to a modulating signal. This is done in a similar fashion as a musician may modulate a tone (a periodic waveform) from a musical instrument by varying its volume, timing and pitch. The three key parameters of a periodic waveform are its amplitude ("volume"), its phase ("timing") and its frequency ("pitch"), all of which can be modified in accordance with a low frequency signal to obtain the modulated signal. Typically a high-frequency sinusoid waveform is used as carrier signal, but a square wave pulse train may also occur.

In telecommunications, modulation is the process of conveying a message signal, for example a digital bit stream or an analog audio signal, inside another signal that can be physically transmitted. Modulation of a sine waveform is used to transform a baseband message signal to a passband signal, for example a radio-frequency signal (RF signal). In radio communications, cable TV systems or the public switched telephone network for instance, electrical signals can only be transferred over a limited passband frequency spectrum, with specific (non-zero) lower and upper cutoff frequencies. Modulating a sine wave carrier makes it possible to keep the frequency content of the transferred signal as close as possible to the centre frequency (typically the carrier frequency) of the passband. When coupled with demodulation, this technique can be used to, among other things, transmit a signal through a channel which may be opaque to the baseband frequency range (for instance, when sending a telephone signal through a fiber-optic strand).

In music synthesizers, modulation may be used to synthesis waveforms with a desired overtone spectrum. In this case the carrier frequency is typically in the same order or much lower than the modulating waveform. See for example frequency modulation synthesis or ring modulation.

A device that performs modulation is known as a modulator and a device that performs the inverse operation of modulation is known as a demodulator (sometimes detector or demod). A device that can do both operations is a modem (short for "Modulator-Demodulator").

The aim of digital modulation is to transfer a digital bit stream over an analog passband channel, for example over the public switched telephone network (where a bandpass filter limits the frequency range to between 300 and 3400 Hz), or over a limited radio frequency band.

The aim of analog modulation is to transfer an analog baseband (or lowpass) signal, for example an audio signal or TV signal, over an analog passband channel, for example a limited radio frequency band or a cable TV network channel.

Analog and digital modulation facilitate frequency division multiplexing (FDM), where several low pass information signals are transferred simultaneously over the same shared physical medium, using separate passband channels.

The aim of digital baseband modulation methods, also known as line coding, is to transfer a digital bit stream over a baseband channel, typically a non-filtered copper wire such as a serial bus or a wired local area network.

The aim of pulse modulation methods is to transfer a narrowband analog signal, for example a phone call over a wideband baseband channel or, in some of the schemes, as a bit stream over another digital transmission system.

Analog modulation methods In analog modulation, the modulation is applied continuously in response to the analog information signal. A low-frequency message signal (top) may be carried by an AM or FM radio wave.

Common analog modulation techniques are:

Amplitude modulation (AM) (here the amplitude of the carrier signal is varied in accordance to the instantaneous amplitude of the modulating signal) o Double-sideband modulation (DSB) Double-sideband modulation with unsuppressed carrier (DSB-WC) (used on the AM radio broadcasting band) Double-sideband suppressed-carrier transmission (DSBSC) Double-sideband reduced carrier transmission (DSB-RC) o Single-sideband modulation (SSB, or SSB-AM), SSB with carrier (SSB-WC) SSB suppressed carrier modulation (SSB-SC) o Vestigial sideband modulation (VSB, or VSB-AM) o Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)

Angle modulation
o

Frequency modulation (FM) (here the frequency of the carrier signal is varied in accordance to the instantaneous frequency of the modulating signal) Phase modulation (PM) (here the phase shift of the carrier signal is varied in accordance to the instantaneous phase shift of the modulating signal)

The accompanying figure shows the results of (amplitude-)modulating a signal onto a carrier (both of which are sine waves). At any point along the y-axis, the amplitude of the modulated signal is equal to the sum of the carrier signal and the modulating signal amplitudes.

Simple example of amplitude modulation.

Digital modulation methods In digital modulation, an analog carrier signal is modulated by a digital bit stream. Digital modulation methods can be considered as digital-to-analog conversion, and the corresponding demodulation or detection as analog-todigital conversion. The changes in the carrier signal are chosen from a finite number of M alternative symbols (the modulation alphabet).

Schematic of 4 baud (8 bps) data link. A simple example: A telephone line is designed for transferring audible sounds, for example tones, and not digital bits (zeros and ones). Computers may however communicate over a telephone line by means of modems, which are representing the digital bits by tones, called symbols. If there are four alternative symbols (corresponding to a musical instrument that can generate four different tones, one at a time), the first symbol may represent the bit sequence 00, the second 01, the third 10 and the fourth 11. If the modem plays a melody consisting of 1000 tones per second, the symbol rate is 1000 symbols/second, or baud. Since each tone (i.e., symbol) represents a message consisting of two digital bits in this example, the bit rate is twice the symbol rate, i.e. 2000 bits per second. This is similar to the technique used by dialup modems as opposed to DSL modems. .

According to one definition of digital signal, the modulated signal is a digital signal, and according to another definition, the modulation is a form of digital-to-analog conversion. Most textbooks would consider digital modulation schemes as a form of digital transmission, synonymous to data transmission; very few would consider it as analog transmission. Fundamental digital modulation methods The most fundamental digital modulation techniques are based on keying:

In the case of PSK (phase-shift keying), a finite number of phases are used. In the case of FSK (frequency-shift keying), a finite number of frequencies are used. In the case of ASK (amplitude-shift keying), a finite number of amplitudes are used. In the case of QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation), a finite number of at least two phases, and at least two amplitudes are used.

In QAM, an inphase signal (the I signal, for example a cosine waveform) and a quadrature phase signal (the Q signal, for example a sine wave) are amplitude modulated with a finite number of amplitudes, and summed. It can be seen as a two-channel system, each channel using ASK. The resulting signal is equivalent to a combination of PSK and ASK. In all of the above methods, each of these phases, frequencies or amplitudes are assigned a unique pattern of binary bits. Usually, each phase, frequency or amplitude encodes an equal number of bits. This number of bits comprises the symbol that is represented by the particular phase, frequency or amplitude. If the alphabet consists of M = 2N alternative symbols, each symbol represents a message consisting of N bits. If the symbol rate (also known as the baud rate) is fS symbols/second (or baud), the data rate is NfS bit/second. For example, with an alphabet consisting of 16 alternative symbols, each symbol represents 4 bits. Thus, the data rate is four times the baud rate. In the case of PSK, ASK or QAM, where the carrier frequency of the modulated signal is constant, the modulation alphabet is often conveniently represented on a constellation diagram, showing the amplitude of the I

signal at the x-axis, and the amplitude of the Q signal at the y-axis, for each symbol.

Modulator and detector principles of operation

PSK and ASK, and sometimes also FSK, are often generated and detected using the principle of QAM. The I and Q signals can be combined into a complex-valued signal I+jQ (where j is the imaginary unit). The resulting so called equivalent lowpass signal or equivalent baseband signal is a complexvalued representation of the real-valued modulated physical signal (the so called passband signal or RF signal). These are the general steps used by the modulator to transmit data:
1. Group the incoming data bits into code words, one for each symbol

that will be transmitted.

2. Map the codeword to attributes, for example amplitudes of the I and Q

signals (the equivalent low pass signal), or frequency or phase values.

3. Adapt pulse shaping or some other filtering to limit the bandwidth and

form the spectrum of the equivalent low pass signal, typically using digital signal processing. 4. Perform digital-to-analog conversion (DAC) of the I and Q signals (since today all of the above is normally achieved using digital signal processing, DSP). 5. Generate a high-frequency sine wave carrier waveform, and perhaps also a cosine quadrature component. Carry out the modulation, for example by multiplying the sine and cosine wave form with the I and Q signals, resulting in that the equivalent low pass signal is frequency shifted into a modulated passband signal or RF signal. Sometimes this is achieved using DSP technology, for example direct digital synthesis using a waveform table, instead of analog signal processing. In that case the above DAC step should be done after this step. 6. Amplification and analog bandpass filtering to avoid harmonic distortion and periodic spectrum

At the receiver side, the demodulator typically performs:

1. Bandpass filtering. 2. Automatic gain control, AGC (to compensate for attenuation, for example fading). 3. Frequency shifting of the RF signals to the equivalent baseband I and Q signals, or to an intermediate frequency (IF) signal, by multiplying the RF signal with a local oscillator sine wave and cosine wave frequency (see the superheterodyne receiver principle). 4. Sampling and analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) (Sometimes before or instead of the above point, for example by means of undersampling). 5. Equalization filtering, for example a matched filter, compensation for multipath propagation, time spreading, phase distortion and frequency selective fading, to avoid intersymbol interference and symbol distortion. 6. Detection of the amplitudes of the I and Q signals, or the frequency or phase of the IF signal. 7. Quantization of the amplitudes, frequencies or phases to the nearest allowed symbol values. 8. Mapping of the quantized amplitudes, frequencies or phases to codeword (bit groups). 9. Parallel-to-serial conversion of the code words into a bit stream. 10. Pass the resultant bit stream on for further processing such as removal of any error-correcting codes.

As is common to all digital communication systems, the design of both the modulator and demodulator must be done simultaneously. Digital modulation schemes are possible because the transmitter-receiver pair have prior knowledge of how data is encoded and represented in the communications system. In all digital communication systems, both the modulator at the transmitter and the demodulator at the receiver are structured so that they perform inverse operations. Non-coherent modulation methods do not require a receiver reference clock signal that is phase synchronized with the sender carrier wave. In this case, modulation symbols (rather than bits, characters, or data packets) are asynchronously transferred. The opposite is coherent modulation.

List of common digital modulation techniques The most common digital modulation techniques are:

Phase-shift keying (PSK): o Binary PSK (BPSK), using M=2 symbols o Quadrature PSK (QPSK), using M=4 symbols o 8PSK, using M=8 symbols o 16PSK, using M=16 symbols o Differential PSK (DPSK) o Differential QPSK (DQPSK) o Offset QPSK (OQPSK) o /4QPSK

Frequency-shift keying (FSK): o Audio frequency-shift keying (AFSK) o Multi-frequency shift keying (M-ary FSK or MFSK) o Dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) o Continuous-phase frequency-shift keying (CPFSK)

Amplitude-shift keying (ASK)

On-off keying (OOK), the most common ASK form o M-ary vestigial sideband modulation, for example 8VSB

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) - a combination of PSK and ASK: o Polar modulation like QAM a combination of PSK and ASK.

Continuous phase modulation (CPM) methods: o Minimum-shift keying (MSK) o Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK)

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation: o Discrete multitone (DMT) - including adaptive modulation and bit-loading.

Wavelet modulation

Trellis coded modulation (TCM), also known as trellis modulation

Spread-spectrum techniques:
o o o

Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) Chirp spread spectrum (CSS) according to IEEE 802.15.4a CSS uses pseudo-stochastic coding Frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) applies a special scheme for channel release.

MSK and GMSK are particular cases of continuous phase modulation. Indeed, MSK is a particular case of the sub-family of CPM known as continuousphase frequency-shift keying (CPFSK) which is defined by a rectangular frequency pulse (i.e. a linearly increasing phase pulse) of one symbol-time duration (total response signaling). OFDM is based on the idea of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), but is utilized as a digital modulation scheme. The bit stream is split into several parallel data streams, each transferred over its own sub-carrier using some conventional digital modulation scheme. The modulated sub-carriers are summed to form an OFDM signal. OFDM is considered as a modulation technique rather than a multiplex technique, since it transfers one bit stream over one communication channel using one sequence of so-called OFDM symbols. OFDM can be extended to multi-user channel access method in the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) and multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) schemes, allowing several users to share the same physical medium by giving different sub-carriers or spreading codes to different users.

Of the two kinds of RF power amplifier, switching amplifiers (Class C amplifiers) cost less and use less battery power than linear amplifiers of the same output power. However, they only work with relatively constantamplitude-modulation signals such as angle modulation (FSK or PSK) and CDMA, but not with QAM and OFDM. Nevertheless, even though switching amplifiers are completely unsuitable for normal QAM constellations, often the QAM modulation principle are used to drive switching amplifiers with these FM and other waveforms, and sometimes QAM demodulators are used to receive the signals put out by these switching amplifiers.

Digital baseband modulation or line coding The term digital baseband modulation (or digital baseband transmission) is synonymous to line codes. These are methods to transfer a digital bit stream over an analog baseband channel (a.k.a. lowpass channel) using a pulse train, i.e. a discrete number of signal levels, by directly modulating the voltage or current on a cable. Common examples are unipolar, non-returnto-zero (NRZ), Manchester and alternate mark inversion (AMI) codings.

Pulse modulation methods Pulse modulation schemes aim at transferring a narrowband analog signal over an analog baseband channel as a two-level signal by modulating a pulse wave. Some pulse modulation schemes also allow the narrowband analog signal to be transferred as a digital signal (i.e. as a quantized discrete-time signal) with a fixed bit rate, which can be transferred over an underlying digital transmission system, for example some line code. These are not modulation schemes in the conventional sense since they are not channel coding schemes, but should be considered as source coding schemes, and in some cases analog-to-digital conversion techniques. Analog-over-analog methods:

Pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) Pulse-position modulation (PPM)

Analog-over-digital methods:

Pulse-code modulation (PCM) Differential PCM (DPCM) Adaptive DPCM (ADPCM) Delta modulation (DM or -modulation) Sigma-delta modulation () Continuously variable slope delta modulation (CVSDM), also called Adaptive-delta modulation (ADM) Pulse-density modulation (PDM)
o o

Multiplexing

General multiplexing - demultiplexing scheme: the input lines-channels are multiplexed into a single fast line. The demultiplexer receives the multiplexed data stream and extracts the original channels to be transferred.

In telecommunications and computer networks, multiplexing (also known as muxing) is a process where multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share an expensive resource. For example, in telecommunications, several phone calls may be transferred using one wire. It originated in telegraphy, and is now widely applied in communications. The multiplexed signal is transmitted over a communication channel, which may be a physical transmission medium. The multiplexing divides the capacity of the low-level communication channel into several higher-level logical channels, one for each message signal or data stream to be transferred. A reverse process, known as demultiplexing, can extract the original channels on the receiver side. A device that performs the multiplexing is called a multiplexer (MUX), and a device that performs the reverse process is called a demultiplexer (DEMUX). Inverse multiplexing (IMUX) has the opposite aim as multiplexing, namely to break one data stream into several streams, transfer them simultaneously over several communication channels, and recreate the original data stream.

Types of multiplexing The group of multiplexing technologies may be divided into several types, all of which have significant variations:[1] space-division multiplexing (SDM), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), and code division multiplexing (CDM). Variable bit rate digital bit streams may be transferred efficiently over a fixed bandwidth channel by means of statistical multiplexing, for example packet mode communication. Packet mode communication is an asynchronous mode time-domain multiplexing which resembles time-division multiplexing. Digital bit streams can be transferred over an analog channel by means of code-division multiplexing (CDM) techniques such as frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) and direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS).

In wireless communications, multiplexing can also be accomplished through alternating polarization (horizontal/vertical or clockwise/counterclockwise) on each adjacent channel and satellite, or through phased multi-antenna array combined with a Multiple-input multiple-output communications (MIMO) scheme. Space-division multiplexing In wired communication, space-division multiplexing simply implies different point-to-point wires for different channels. One example is an analogue stereo audio cable, with one pair of wires for the left channel and another for the right channel. Another example is a switched star network such as the analog telephone access network (although inside the telephone exchange or between the exchanges, other multiplexing techniques are typically employed) or a switched Ethernet network. A third example is a mesh network. Wired space-division multiplexing is typically not considered as multiplexing. In wireless communication, space-division multiplexing is achieved by multiple antenna elements forming a phased array antenna. Examples are multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), single-input and multiple-output (SIMO) and multiple-input and single-output (MISO) multiplexing. For example, a IEEE 802.11n wireless router with N antennas makes it possible to communicate with N multiplexed channels, each with a peak bit rate of 54 Mbit/s, thus increasing the total peak bit rate with a factor N. Different antennas would give different multi-path propagation (echo) signatures, making it possible for digital signal processing techniques to separate different signals from each other. These techniques may also be utilized for space diversity (improved robustness to fading) or beamforming (improved selectivity) rather than multiplexing.

Frequency-division multiplexing

Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM): The spectrums of each input signal are shifted in several distinct frequency ranges. Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) is inherently an analog technology. FDM achieves the combining of several digital signals into one medium by sending signals in several distinct frequency ranges over that medium.

One of FDM's most common applications is cable television. Only one cable reaches a customer's home but the service provider can send multiple television channels or signals simultaneously over that cable to all subscribers. Receivers must tune to the appropriate frequency (channel) to access the desired signal.[2] A variant technology, called wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is used in optical communications.

Time-division multiplexing

Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a digital technology. TDM involves sequencing groups of a few bits or bytes from each individual input stream, one after the other, and in such a way that they can be associated with the appropriate receiver. If done sufficiently and quickly, the receiving devices will not detect that some of the circuit time was used to serve another logical communication path.

Time-division multiplexing (TDM). Consider an application requiring four terminals at an airport to reach a central computer. Each terminal communicated at 2400 bps, so rather than acquire four individual circuits to carry such a low-speed transmission, the airline has installed a pair of multiplexers. A pair of 9600 bps modems and one dedicated analog communications circuit from the airport ticket desk back to the airline data center are also installed.

Code-division multiplexing

Code division multiplexing (CDM) is a technique in which each channel transmits its bits as a coded channel-specific sequence of pulses. This coded transmission typically is accomplished by transmitting a unique timedependent series of short pulses, which are placed within chip times within the larger bit time. All channels, each with a different code, can be transmitted on the same fiber and asynchronously demultiplexed. Other widely used multiple access techniques are Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA). Code Division Multiplex techniques are used as an access technology, namely Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard for the third generation (3G) mobile communication identified by the ITU. Another important application of the CDMA is the Global Positioning System (GPS). However, the term Code Division Multiple access (CDMA) is also widely used to refer to a group of specific implementations of CDMA defined by

Qualcomm for use in digital cellular telephony, which include IS-95 and IS2000. The two different uses of this term can be confusing. Actually, CDMA (the Qualcomm standard) and UMTS have been competing for adoption in many markets.

Telecommunication multiplexing

Relation to multiple access

A multiplexing technique may be further extended into a multiple access method or channel access method, for example TDM into Time-division multiple access (TDMA) and statistical multiplexing into carrier sense multiple access (CSMA). A multiple access method makes it possible for several transmitters connected to the same physical medium to share its capacity. Multiplexing is provided by the Physical Layer of the OSI model, while multiple access also involves a media access control protocol, which is part of the Data Link Layer. The Transport layer in the OSI model as well as TCP/IP model provides statistical multiplexing of several application layer data flows to/from the same computer.

Configuration
Most of the VSAT are configured in of the three following ways: A star topology, using a central uplink site, such as a network operations center (NOC), to transport data back and forth to each VSAT terminal via satellite,

A mesh topology, where each VSAT terminal relays data via satellite to another terminal by acting as a hub, minimizing the need for a centralized uplink site,

A combination of both star and mesh topologies. Some VSAT networks are configured by having several centralized uplink sites (and VSAT terminals stemming from it) connected in a multi-star topology with each star (and each terminal in each star) connected to each other in a mesh topology. Others configured in only a single star topology sometimes will have each terminal connected to each other as well, resulting in each terminal acting as a central hub. These configurations are utilized to minimize the overall cost of the network, and to alleviate the amount of data that has to be relayed through a central uplink site (or sites) of a star or multi-star network.

The most common VSAT configuration is the TDM/TDMA star network. This have a high bit rate outbound carrier (TDM) from the hub to the remote earth stations, and one or more low or medium bit rate Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) inbound carriers. With its star configuration network architecture, interactive VSAT technology is appropriate for any organization with centralized management and data processing. This configuration has been developed to minimize overall lifetime costs for the complete network including satellite transmission costs. The use of a single high performance hub allows the use of low cost remote VSAT terminals and optimizes use of satellite capacity. Even so, in most VSAT networks, the cost of the VSAT terminals usually far exceeds the cost of the hub (typically a VSAT terminal is 0.1 to 0.2% of the price of the hub).

In a typical VSAT network, remote user sites have a number of personal computers, dumb terminals and printers connected to the VSAT terminal which connects them to a centralized host computer either at the organization's head office or data processing centre. Data sent to the VSAT terminal from the DTEs is buffered and transmitted to the hub in packets.

Interactive VSAT Network The principle characteristics of an interactive VSAT network are:

Remote user sites have several low bit rate data terminal equipments (DTEs) operating at 1.2 to 9.6 kb/s. These are connected through the VSAT network to a centralized host processor. The DTEs are connected to the host through an X.25 Packet Assembler/Dissembler (PAD) or through a conventional or statistical multiplexer which concentrates the traffic. The amount of data transferred in each transaction is relatively small, typically between 300 and 105 bits. Interactive VSATs are not usually used for batch file transfer (107 to 1011 bits per transaction) unless the transmission plan is specifically designed to carry large files. Each VSAT terminal only operates with a low duty cycle, i.e. with only a relatively small number of transactions in the peak busy hour compared to the total available capacity. A large number of VSAT terminals (10 to 10000) share the same communications link using random access.

Connections between remote VSAT terminals require a double hop through the hub and are rarely used.

VSAT networks are designed to be flexible and to evolve with user needs. VSAT terminals are controlled by microprocessors and can generally be reprogrammed remotely using downloaded software from the hub. If additional interfaces or capacity are required this can usually be provided by adding or replacing cards in the VSAT terminal. Three different transmission schemes are used for interactive hub VSAT networks:

TDM/TDMA Demand Assigned SCPC CDMA

Of these TDM/TDMA is by far the dominant technique with only CDMA being used to a small extent. Demand assigned SCPC has been virtually abandoned as a transmission scheme for the present. It is also common for VSAT systems to support one-way TV transmission from the host to the remote stations. Two-way, 2 Mb/s transmissions can also be supported by some VSAT systems.

Shared Hub Networks

To make VSAT networks more affordable it is possible to share the hub between several users, thereby spreading the cost. In this case the hub is usually owned by a service provider who retains overall control of the network and who manages the hub itself. Each user, however, is allocated his own time slots or carriers and can so operate his own private network using the shared hub facility without any loss of privacy. The operation and management of these subnetworks is performed by the users themselves completely independently of the service supplier.

VSAT Shared Hub Network Configuration

Mini-Hub Networks

In this configuration, each user has his own "mini-hub" which is much smaller and simpler, and hence cheaper, than a conventional hub. An approximate price for a mini-hub is 250 Euro. The antenna diameter is typically only 2.4 m. Each user organization has complete control over his own communications. Overall management of the complete network is provided by the service supplier who has a "super hub" which provides network supervision and diagnostic support.

VSAT Mini-Hub Network Configuration

Network Management Current interactive VSAT networks generally have distributed, rather than a centralized, network management. Multiple points of control and intelligent operator interfaces are common features. The network manager not only has the ability to perform diagnostics on the network, but can also reconfigure the network from his own console. Where multiple consoles are available, the network can be configured, monitored and operated either locally or remotely. In addition, many VSAT network management systems have

interfaces available for working with other vendor's network management systems such as IBM's Net view and DEC's EMA.

TDM/TDMA Interactive VSAT Networks All the established interactive hub VSAT systems use TDM/TDMA access as the primary access technique (TDM on the outbound and TDMA on the inbounds).

Network Configuration

Virtual Subnetworks Many VSAT systems can be configured to support virtual sub networks within a VSAT network. These can be set up to give closed groups of users their own private networks. This facility allows groups of users to have complete control over their own sub network and to be able to manage it independently of the main network. Virtual sub networks are exploited by many VSAT service vendors in "shared hub" networks. Within a single organization, however, virtual sub networks can be used, for example, for each division in the organization, so that communications costs can be accurately charged.

Hub Station

The hub station is usually a relatively large, high performance earth station with an antenna diameter of anything between 6 and 9m. The hub consists of a control centre which manages the network as well as microwave equipment, including an outdoor antenna, for the transmission and reception of signals. A substantial amount of interfacing equipment necessary to support the wide range of terrestrial interfaces required at the hub completes the installation. This equipment is usually mounted in several racks.

Hub stations are expensive and typically cost upwards of 1 MEuro. Hub stations can be shared between several networks, resulting in a sharing of costs. Two principal options for network implementation can be adopted. Firstly, some very large users will wish to purchase their own dedicated VSAT networks including a hub. Other users will choose to buy or lease the user terminals and to lease access to a hub which will be owned by the system operator.

VSAT Hub Station Block Diagram

The hub station consists of several main subsystems, except for the antenna these are usually fully redundant with automatic switchover in the event of failure:

A switch (generally a packet switch) which controls routing between host ports and the modulator and demodulator ports, as well as adding and reading header address information which controls routing to and from individual IDUs.

One or more modulators which modulate the outbound carriers with the TDM stream generated by the switch (each outbound carrier has a dedicated modulator). A bank of demodulators which receive the inbound carriers and extract the data packets and feed them to the switch. An RFT (radio frequency terminal), which contains: o The transmit subsystem containing up converters which change the 70 or 140 MHz IF to the required transmit frequency before feeding it to the High Power Amplifier (HPA). If the hub only uses a single carrier for data it is possible to use a solid state power amplifier (SSPA), otherwise a more powerful Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier (TWTA) must generally be used. Uplink power control is often provided so that the power transmitted by the hub can be increased to compensate for high link attenuation due to precipitation in bad weather. o The receive subsystem consisting of a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) with a noise temperature usually between 150 and 175 K (Ku band) and a down converter to change the received frequency to the IF frequency (70 or 140 MHz). o The antenna subsystem consisting of a large antenna (6 to 9 m in diameter) on a mount with a tracking system which allows the antenna to follow the satellite as it moves very slightly in the sky. A feed horn is fitted at the focus of the dish to collect the received signals from the antenna and to feed the transmit signals to it. An NCC (network control centre) which controls and monitors the operation of the hub and the IDUs in the network. The primary power subsystem which guarantees the quality and continuity of the power supply for the hub. It typically contains power switching, an uninterruptible power supply with a large battery bank and a diesel generator.

The hub is usually very expensive, costing typically between 0.5 million Euro to 2 million Euro, depending on the configuration and manufacturer. This cost excluded the price of the RFT, antenna and civil works. A few small, simple VSAT systems intended for very low data rate applications such as SCADA (for example the TSAT) have low cost hubs, costing of the order of 25,000 to 50,000 Euro.

Remote Terminals

In contrast to the hub station, the remote terminals are much simpler. To minimize total system costs, VSAT networks are designed to have a single expensive hub and a large number of much smaller remote terminals.

VSAT Remote Terminal Block Diagram Remote terminals consist of:

A dish antenna, generally 0.55 to 2.4 m in diameter (though larger dishes are sometimes required), which can be wall, roof or ground mounted. The antennas are usually offset-fed parabolic dishes, although larger dishes tend to be centre-fed. Recently, to gain higher performance (in particular side lobe performance) dual reflector, Gregorian designs have started to become common. Several different materials are used for the dishes with spun aluminum, steel, fiberglass and reinforced plastic being the most popular. An outdoor unit, which contains the microwave electronics for the terminal. This is usually the size of a shoe box, but it may be much smaller. If the ODU is large it is normally supported on the antenna

mount behind the dish. Smaller ODUs can be attached directly to the rear of the feed assembly in front of the dish. The outdoor unit is usually all solid state with GaAs FETs used in the Low Noise Receiver and the High Power Amplifier. LNA noise temperatures are typically in the range 190 - 225 K (Ku band) and HPA output powers are usually in the range 0.1 - 6 W (Ku band). An indoor unit, which provides the modulation, demodulation, multiplexing, demultiplexing and synchronization with the rest of the network and supports the user interfaces. This box is usually about the size of a domestic video recorder.

Remote terminals usually support a wide range of common electrical interfaces such as RS-232, RS-422, V.35, as well as voice and TV. Several common protocols are also generally supported including SDLC, 3270 bisync, X.25, asynch and Ethernet. Asynchronous data rates are typically available up to 9.6 kb/s. Synchronous data rates between 1.2 and 32 or 64 kb/s are also generally available. Remote terminals have now become very reliable, with MTBFs of typically 25000 hours. Link availability is also usually designed to be high, with an end to end availability of better than 99.7% being quite common. The price of a remote terminal, like that of a hub station, can vary a great deal, but typical prices are in the range 3 to 8 kEuro (for a complete installation consisting of antenna, mount, ODU and IDU).

What Specific Problems VSAT was Designed to Solve?

The biggest advantage of the VSAT network is that it well suited to the needs of large corporations with scattered facilities throughout the world. So organizations such as banks, government departments, schools, hospitals and home offices, VSAT offers end-to-end services and can easily be established as businesses grow with fast deployment. This doesnt mean small size enterprises dont need this kind of service. Small-to medium-sized enterprises are the biggest potential market for VSAT operators. [15] The cost of VSATs remains the same regardless of distance. As some VSAT user commented Low initial cost, high levels of service and short time to market have resulted in VSAT being selected by the entire spectrum of commercial organizations.

VSAT Applications
Industry Service

Banking

Automatic teller machines Transaction support, database access Teller services

File/software update Branch bank automation

Retail

Credit authorization Point of sale Pricing updates Inventory control Fleet management Shipment tracking Brokerage service Electronic payment transactions Pipeline monitoring Power line monitoring Internet access Corporate email

Inventory control Video promotions Frequent buyer programs Order entry Credit authorization

Transportation

Financial services

On-line trading File/software updates, data base access Communication to drilling sites

Energy

Miscellaneous

LAN internetworking Distance learning

Another appeal of VSAT is that it is available everywhere. It can operate without terrestrial concerns which make it the ideal solution for communication in remote and rural areas. Concerning the cost of building the infrastructure, it always costs too much for communication operators to lay cable or telephone lines into rural areas. Fifty per cent of the worlds population still has never dialed a phone call, never watched TV or do not know what the Internet is. According to Barry Spielman, director of corporate marketing for satellite operator Gilat, VSAT networks represent

the most cost-effective solution for communities in areas where PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) is unavailable, overloaded or too expensive. In this way VSAT meets important economic needs for developing countries. Countries like Vietnam and Peru have established rural satellite telephony networks for public use. That may give an answer to that why the United Nations has underlined VSATs as a pivotal technology for developing countries. Beyond data broadcasting and telephony, the VSAT can become an Internet provider without replacing any existing equipment. For example, Gilat in Peru is trying to provide a comprehensive VSAT network solution by upgrading the existing rural telephony infrastructure. At the same time, Gilat opened the first always-on broadband Internet service via two-way satellite in Brazil and users can browse WebPages at a speed 10 times higher than normal speed available in their country.

How VSAT Interconnects With Other Media?

In the global telecommunication industry, VSAT plays as an essential complement to terrestrial lines. It is widely believed that VSAT cant compete on the speed in place where cable is widely available. But VSAT has placed its niche not in speed but as a solution which is efficient and effective. Three major advantages make VSAT stand out in the global competition. Reach Further: wherever you are whether 20,000 miles away from the gulf coast drilling oil platform or living on a mountain 5,000 miles high, VSAT can easily get you connected with the rest of the world which cable cant. Imagine how much it would cost to deliver a cable line to a rural area with only 100 residents. VSAT can provide services to those places that are impossible for cable to reach. More Reliable: VSAT is always used as the backup system for terrestrial systems because it has quality transmission competitive or even more reliable than the terrestrial delivery. Interruptions in service are rare and usually take shorter time to repair than when terrestrial communications is in use. On the terrorist attack September 11, 2001, the largest VSAT userthe United States Postal office in New York went back online immediately by pointing its existing VSAT network towards New York. Less Expensive: Maybe the most important advantage is the cost of VSAT network which is much cheaper in installation and operation. As Tim Patterson, manger with the Unites States Postal Service, argued: VSAT is

optimal as stand-alone infrastructure at remote sites and in small-town offices that do not need the full bandwidth provided by terrestrial systems. In short, with the advantages of real-time, low cost, easy installation, VSAT became an important player in telecommunications and extends its business widely to blank areas where Cable and Telephony is absent.

Economic Facts: Industry analysts confirm that cost of VSATs has steadily dropped since they entered the market. According to Figure 6, it is clear that earth station pricing has declined dramatically from 1990 at $16,000 to $2000 in year Figure 6: 1990-2000 VSAT Terminal Pricing 2000. Trends US$000 (Source: COMSYS) However, the VSAT network is still costly to initiate and maintain especially in developing countries where people may not have the extra ability to afford VSAT. This problem will be solved in a long run depending on the economic development of developing countries and the rest of the world.

Pros and Cons of VSAT network

Advantages:

Availability: VSAT services can be deployed anywhere having a clear view of the Clarke belt.

 Diversity: VSAT provides a wireless link completely independent of the local terrestrial/wire line infrastructureespecially important for backup or disaster recovery services. Deployed ability: VSAT services can be deployed in hours or even minutes (with auto acquisition antennas) Homogeneity: VSAT enables customers to get same speed and SLAs at all locations across their network regardless of location. Acceleration: most modern VSAT system use onboard acceleration of protocols such as TCP (spoofing of acknowledgement packet) and HTTP (pre-fetching of recognized HTTP objects); this delivers high quality internet performance regardless of latency. Multicast: most current VSAT system used a broadcast download scheme (such as DVB-S) which enables them to deliver the same contents to tens or thousands of locations simultaneously at no additional cost. Security: corporate grade VSAT networks are private layer-2 networks over the air. Disadvantages:

Latency: since they relay signals off a satellite in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the earth, VSAT links are subject to a minimum latency of approximately 500 milliseconds round trip. This makes them a poor choice for chatty protocols or applications such as online gaming. Encryption: the acceleration scheme used by most VSAT systems relies upon the ability to see a packets source/destination and contents; packets encrypted via VPN defeat this acceleration and perform slower than other network traffic. Environmental concerns: VSATs are subject to signal attenuation due to weather (rain-fade); the effect is typically far less than that experienced by one way TV systems (such as DIRECT TV or DISH network)that use smaller dishes, but is still a function of antenna size and transmitter power and frequency band. Installation: VSAT services require a outdoor antenna installation with a clear view of the sky (southern sky if the location is in the northern hemisphere and northern sky if the location is in the southern hemisphere); this makes installation

in skyscraper urban environments or locations where a customer does not have roof rights problematic.

Future applications
Advances in technology have dramatically improved the price/performance equation of FSS (Fixed Service Satellite) over the past five years. New VSAT systems are coming online using Ka band technology that promise higher bandwidth rates for lower costs. FSS satellite systems currently in orbit have a huge capacity with a relatively low price structure. FSS satellite systems provide various applications for subscribers, including: telephony, fax, television, high speed data communication services, Internet access, Satellite News Gathering (SNG), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and others. These systems are applicable for providing various high-quality services because they create efficient communication systems, both for residential and business users.

The Future Trends: From One-way to Two-way:

As a mature technology, VSAT is becoming less costly. A company with 4,000 locations might pay about $60 per month, per VSAT site. Traditional VSAT services which focus on gas stations and retail chains now are extending into two-way business such as IP (Internet Protocol). The global two-way enterprise IP VSAT managed services are increasing dramatically. According to Christopher Baugh, principle analyst for Northern Sky Research, giant VSAT vendors like Gilat now place almost total focus on two-way VSAT shipments. More Users in Developing Countries: The great use in developing countries is distant learning. In March 2004, Gilat brought VSAT Connections to Russias First Distance Education Project. In India, Gilat has supplied more than 1,500 VSAT network terminals in its rural areas. And for China, the railway stations install the VSAT system for data transmission and voice communication and video conferencing. In conclusion, since the benefits of VSAT are becoming more apparent, we have reasons to believe that VSAT service with its high functionality and low expenses will support a wider range of global communications in the future.

Company Overview

ESSEL SHYAM
Esselshyam, a telecom/IT and Media Broadcasting Technology Service Provider having customized solutions for Internet and Telecommunications using State of the art technology. The solutions are designed for the specific needs of our customers in various segments, including enterprises small and medium and large media companies, Government and Other security Agencies along with various other customers Esselshyam formed in 1996, a joint venture promoted by Essel group and Shyam group with initial investment of equal stakes. The two major corporate groups are well known in the field of Media and Telecom. Essel Shyam provides high quality broadband satellite communication solutions. With year by year successful operations, Esselshyam has also added IT Service, KPO, BPO services, Telecom/IT Infrastructure services. The Company has successfully implemented many turnkey projects for national and international clients. Esselshyam has assisted scores of clients to maximize the performance of their Organizations with a powerful suite of services specializing in IT/Telecom/Media technology services. The day-to-day operations of the company are managed by whole time Directors Mr. Lalit Jain and Mr. M. N. Vyas under the control and guidance of the Board of Directors and Investors. They are assisted by a team of highly qualified and experienced professional executives with considerable expertise and experience in their respective fields.