Study on the integration between the GSM cellular network and a satellite system

This paper deals with the full integration of the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) pan-European cellular network with a multi-spot geostationary satellite. The basic requirement of full integration is that the pre-existing GSM network must not be modified because of the insertion of the satellite. A fully integrated scenario is presented. The satellite counterpart of the GSM cell is identified. In a fully integrated scenario “single-mode” mobile stations (MSs) only equipped with the GSM terminal coexist with “dual-mode” MSs equipped with both the GSM and the satellite terminal. Two basic categories of dual-mode MSs are considered: the transportable MSs and the vehicular MSs. For both categories the satellite link feasibility is studied by exploiting an ad hoc simulation tool. The system capacity is determined taking into account the presence of the voice activation mechanism. The paper is partly based upon the work performed by the authors in the framework of an European Space Agency (ESA) study on the compatibility between satellite systems and the GSM cellular network