Statistical characterization of the railroad satellite channel at Ku-band

Abstract

In this paper the behavior of the Railroad Satellite Channel (RSC) is analyzed. The main objective is to study some peculiar effects that are characteristic of the high speed railway environment and to develop a dedicated model in order to characterize the behavior of the satellite channel. Particularly, a model for the RSC at Ku-band is proposed and used to analyze the impact on the overall link performance of different techniques to counteract the channel impairments, such as time and space diversity, and hence to address the design of a robust radio link for the railway environment. This work is currently supported as part of the FIFTH project (Fast Internet for Fast Trains Hosts) by the European Commission under IST Contract Nr. 2001-39097. The goal of the FIFTH project is to develop an innovative system in order to provide high quality internet and digital TV services to users traveling on high speed trains [1].