Interoperability challenges for Ka-band satellite systems

For Ka-band satellite systems to compete successfully in the broadband marketplace, two fundamental challenges must be addressed: cost, and the quality and performance of the offered services/applications. Specific issues related to these challenges are discussed and a set of solutions is proposed. The solutions range from the development of common standards to specific techniques to mitigate the effect of rain fades in Ka-band frequencies and the propagation delay of the geosynchronous satellite. Finally, dynamic resource allocation and congestion control techniques are described which exploit the key characteristics of Ka-band satellite systems and maximize the availability of satellite capacity to user applications.