Markov-based satellite channel modeling in DVB systems

Abstract

It is crucial to investigate how the channel influences communication in a satellite environment, especially under changing environmental circumstances. Only in conditions of channel variability the benefits of the Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) and the related dynamic adaptations of the different Modulation&Codings (MODCODs) in a Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard can be understood. In this study, the model of a satellite channel that incorporates rain attenuation is the main topic of discussion. Our modeling approach is based on a model proposed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and was developed using Matlab tool. It is composed of two parts: the first allows for the extraction of the state transition matrix for a given longitude and latitude using a Markov chains approach; the second, using the previously extracted matrices, tries to discover a closed formula for the matrix probabilities as functions of latitude and longitude through the polynomial regression technique.