Evaluation of 5G Coexistence and Interference Signals in the C-Band Satellite Earth Station

Abstract

Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) used to be alone at the C-Band spectrum in most countries. Since the deployment of 5G in many countries (i.e., 3.3–3.6 GHz), FSS is not the exclusive system in the C-Band anymore. In order to minimize the detrimental interference for the FSS to allowable levels, regional exclusion zones of maximum radiated power in 5G base stations (BS) are proposed and evaluated. In this paper, a measurement campaign has been carried out, and an analysis of the interference has been studied. A filtering model, namely Filter to Remove Broadband Interference 5G (FIREBRING), is proposed and analyzed concerning the carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N). Moreover, this paper focuses on the evaluation of the 5G interference into the FSS. The proposed solution deployed an Low-Noise Block (LNB) with a band frequency of 3.7 to 4.2 GHz to test the satellite down-conversion signal at the receiver. The paper offered a complete analysis of the 5G signal, taking into account the implications of out-of-band emissions, potentially LNB saturation into FSS receiver, and the repercussions of the deployment of the 5G BS active antenna systems. With the LNB and down-converter in place, it can be found that the signal interference between 1.450 GHz and 1.550 GHz, is nearly 18 dB.