Contribution of non‐orthogonal multiple access signalling to practical multibeam satellite deployments

Abstract

This work explores the contribution of non‐orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) signalling to improve some relevant metrics of a multibeam satellite downlink. Users are paired to exploit signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) imbalances coming from the coexistence of different types of terminals, and they can be flexibly allocated to the beams, thus relaxing the cell boundaries of the satellite footprint. Different practical considerations are accommodated, such as a spatially non‐uniform traffic demand, non‐linear amplification effects and the use of the DVB‐S2X air interface. Results show how higher traffic volumes can be channelized by the satellite, thanks to the additional bit rates which are generated for the strong users under the superposition of signals, with carefully designed power levels for DVB‐S2X modulation and coding schemes in the presence of non‐linear impairments.