Two time variant models for satellite channels

The authors consider different methods to design mathematical models for a satellite channel. These channel models, being based on homogeneous Markov chains, are used as a basis for evaluations of the open systems interconnection (OSI) layer 2 protocols. The parameter design of the models is based on measured block error probabilities, obtained by the German PTT on the Olympus 20/30 GHz channel. Since the block error rate is one of the most important issues for a satellite channel, the modeling is based on block oriented data transfers. The authors compare block error probabilities of Gilbert´s and Fritchman´s models with two new generative time variant models. The first is a one-dimensional Markov chain called the time variant (TV) model and the second is a two-layer Markov model called the two-layer time variant model (TLTV). Analyses and simulations show that the TLTV model exhibits the best results