MUOS radio resource management algorithms

The mobile user objective system (MUOS) is a next generation military satellite communication system based on the terrestrial 3GPP WCDMA (3rd generation partnership project - wideband code division multiple access) waveform. In any CDMA system, efficient radio resource management (RRM) algorithms are used to assign users to active cells, beams, carriers, and codes to minimize multiple- access-interference (MAI) and maximize system capacity. In MUOS, designing RRM algorithms becomes even more challenging due to very large cell coverage areas, constrained satellite downlink power, differences in uplink and downlink waveforms, and requirements for group services that include point-to-multipoint and netted communications. In this paper, the technical considerations used to develop MUOS RRM algorithms are described. A government provided communication scenario using realistic worldwide user terminal populations is analyzed. The analysis results show that required MUOS system performance can be optimized using two different active carrier plans, each with certain advantages. These approaches together with the tuning of RRM algorithms can be used to optimize MUOS performance for alternative scenarios and for the future growth of the MUOS user terminal and satellite population.