Smart Diversity Through MIMO Satellite $Q/V$-Band Feeder Links

Abstract

With sum throughputs exceeding 1 Tb/s, next-generation high throughput satellite will play a key role in 5G networks for applications including backhauling or broadband in-flight connectivity. Such satellites require the deployment of tens of $Q/V$ -band feeder links to support the data traffic in their uplink. Meanwhile, geographical restrictions and cost considerations significantly constrain the search for gateway deployment sites. Diversity strategies are, furthermore, necessary to cope with strong rain fades. In this paper, multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) feeder links are proposed to address these challenges. Using two active gateway antennas per feeder link, a MIMO-based solution enables to support twice the user link bandwidth per link compared to the state-of-the-art. On-ground and onboard processing strategies for such MIMO links are introduced, and the link outage probabilities are determined. An extension of smart diversity schemes to MIMO-based architectures is also presented to guarantee a sufficient robustness against rain fades. An analysis of the achieved uplink CINR demonstrates the superiority of the proposed concept and provides guidelines for an efficient design.