Design of an integrated protocol architecture for Micro-VSAT networks

This paper proposes a voice-data integrated digital network designed for Micro-VSAT networks. The design is the result of a study performed under contract for the European Space Agency, in the framework of the development of a portable VSAT network based on the advanced access technique Bandlimited Quasi-Synchronous CDMA, operating in Ku-band (referred to as CKN in this paper). The study was intended to complete the specifications of the system, and to provide the basis for the development of a simulator, which was used for further system analysis and optimization. The study aimed to define first the services to be supported, and from them define the network in terms of bearer services, specify the mapping of bearer services to the carriers supported by the CKN, and define the protocol architecture and signalling that supports the teleservices over the bearer services. The first generation of the system will implement only a subset of the functions and services considered here. There are a number of issues which are innovative, namely: integration of voice and data applications; integration of circuit and packet switching; integration of connection oriented and connectionless services; out-of-band data during a voice communication; multicast services in both voice and data applications; possibility of sharing communication resources among several virtual networks; direct communication between VSAT terminals, without hub relaying; and transparent interconnection to terrestrial data and voice networks