KA-band overview
The latest Ka-band High Throughput Satellite (HTS) systems are technological marvels that optimize the use of available spectrum to deliver high-speed Internet access and an expanding range of value-added interactive services, such as VoIP, video conferencing, distance learning, and digital signage. These systems are typically driven by satellite beam placement and frequency reuse to provide service in a given location.
Ka-band has become the band of choice for many satellite operators due to its increasing capacity availability and its applicability for broadband services
In the past few years we have witnessed a growing amount of Ka-band capacity launched in many regions of the world. Fueled by the growth in Internet-based applications, the demand for satellite capacity has grown similarly to other wire line and wireless communications technologies.
High speed service.
On the service side, the market trend is to increase the service throughput speeds by at least one order of magnitude compared to existing Ku-band or older generation Ka-band satellites. If standard Ku-band service speeds today are 1-2Mbps, the new services are expected to be 10-20Mbps on Ka-Band.
These new high-speed services are comparable to 4G, LTE cellular and multi-Mbps services available on standard DSL, cable, and fiber technologies.
Ka-band is not just the next generation frequency band expansion to Ku. It encompasses a new type of satellite architecture, new transmission and bandwidth management to provide higher quality, better performance and faster speed services. These new technologies and services are a major evolution shifting VSAT to an even more competitive position within the spectrum of telecommunication networking platforms.
Satellite system Architecture
Ka-band geostationary satellite systems are typically architected with hub-and-spoke
connectivity between gateways and the user terminals. Gateways are high-capacity, large-antenna earth stations with connectivity to the terrestrial telecommunication network and to the satellite feeder links. The Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) are located at
end-user locations, providing two-way broadband connectivity over the satellite to the gateways. User data passes from the VSAT to the gateway to the terrestrial telecommunications network and back. Traffic over the satellite network tends to be asymmetric, with more aggregate forward traffic flowing to the VSAT than return traffic flowing from the VSAT.
Ka-band spot beam satellite systems multiply their overall throughput by reusing allocated
spectrum in the spot beams that the satellite creates on the surface of its coverage area. Any specific segment of spectrum is not used in adjacent VSAT cells to prevent interference in the receiver. As in cellular networks, a simple repeating pattern of spectrum allocation allows a portion of the spectrum to be used in any one VSAT cell.
