Large Scale Assessment of Ka/Q band atmospheric channel across Europe with ALPHASAT TDP5: A new propagation campaign

Abstract

The ever growing demand for higher data rates in satellite based services along with the congestion of the lower part of the frequency spectrum has led to the migration of new services to higher bands, such as the Ka-, Q/V bands. However, propagation in these bands is more prone to the atmospheric impairments; thus, the effects of the various atmospheric phenomena need to be accurately modeled and quantified in order to allow for efficient and reliable system design. To this end, a new propagation campaign consortium has been established across Europe (UK, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Greece) to conduct measurements in the Ka- and Q- bands using Alphasat's beacons. This shall allow the validation and enhancement of existing propagation models and support the development of Fading Mitigation Techniques. The objective of this paper is to present the new propagation campaign giving details for the various experimental sites.