Comparison of L- and C-Band Satellite-to-Indoor Broadband Wave Propagation for Navigation Applications

In order to compare satellite-to-indoor wave propagation characteristics between L-band and C-band for satellite navigation applications, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) conducted a measurement campaign in June 2008. The measurements were performed at 1.51 GHz for L-band and at 5.2 GHz for C-band with a broadband signal of 100 MHz bandwidth. A mobile crane was used as transmitter platform. The receiving antenna was mounted on a model train which ran through various rooms in order to capture channel characteristics with a high spatial resolution. Standard statistical results are given in terms of power delay profile, received energy, mean delay, delay spread and number of paths for various transmitter heights and receiver locations. To show the impact of the satellite-to-indoor propagation channel on navigation receivers, the error of the delay-locked-loop (DLL) receiver and an experimental upper bound for multipath mitigation receivers is given. The analysis shows, that C-band is more sensitive to the building layout compared to L-band. Due to building material, C-band wave propagation is subjected to higher entry loss. In terms of positioning performance, L- and C-band show similar performances in the bias seen by the DLL estimator. For multipath mitigation receivers, L-band outperforms C-band especially for higher elevations.