Adaptive multiple access protocols for VSATs providing voice/data services and ATM interconnection

We discuss an adaptive multiaccess scheme that, when applied to a VSAT satellite network, could efficiently accommodate traffic consisting of short, interactive data messages, longer file transfers and voice calls. This enables a large number of users to share the satellite channel. The difficulties associated with the introduction of speech are discussed and ways to deal with these are suggested, so that VSAT systems become able to provide a wide range of multimedia services to geographically dispersed users. We conclude our discussion by turning our attention to the need for VSATs to become compatible with the emerging ATM technology and thus provide a way of remote connection of thin route users to the B-ISDN