PSK Signal Quality Estimates for Network Control

Satellite network control requires the quality measurement of each communications link in order to ensure that each transmitted carrier has sufficient power to deliver the minimum required bit error rate to the user but no more than necessary in order to maximize the throughput of the satellite. The problem is to make the signal quality measurements rapidly and accurately enough to track time varying stress conditions such as weather or jamming effects so that appropriate network responses can be implemented. High data rate carriers present little problem in making rapid quality measurements, but low data rate carriers, typical of antijam (A/J) carriers, present particularly difficult problems in making accurate signal quality measurements, in a timely manner. This paper discusses current techniques used for estimating signal quality for high data rate carriers and presents several techniques that allow rapid and accurate estimates of signal quality for low data rate carriers.