Next-generation Ka-band satellite concept to extend the reach of Canada's broadband infrastructure

Abstract

Universal access to broadband networks is a major principle advanced by the Canadian government to guide the development and implementation of Canada's infrastructure. Satellites are uniquely qualified to ensure that broadband services are available to all Canadians at an affordable cost. To this effect, in this paper, an advanced high-capacity Ka-band satellite, which can ubiquitously extend the reach of broadband services to areas unserved or underserved by terrestrial networks, is proposed. The satellite has a bentpipe architecture with coverage of all of Canada via small elliptical beams. The satellite can provide Canadian households, government institutions, and enterprises with low-cost, two-way, high-speed, bandwidth-on-demand access to broadband services, while using attractive user terminals, in terms of size, cost, throughput, and performance. This paper presents the baseline definition of this advanced satellite, and discusses all aspects of the system design.