Feedforward multiple access satellite communications

Satellite communications modeled by a feedforward random multiple-access system are considered. The transmission times of the users are governed by protocol signals. The authors consider the model of a slot-synchronized collision channel without feedback, proposed by J.L. Massey and P. Mathys (1985), augmented by interleavers that are essential for enabling the use of practical short codes. They assess the throughput of the channel on the basis of a short-coding error parameter. The set of parameters of all users characterizes the rate region achievable by employing short block codes with nonideal interleaving. The short-coding error parameter corresponds to a bound on the probability of error which is tighter than the bound expressed with the aid of the conventional cut-off rate. The analysis takes into account practical communication aspects, such as the effect of interleaving span and noise in noninterfered slots