Improvement of DVB-S2 spectral efficiency using low roll-off

DVB-S2 is the most accepted standard in the satellite market today. Recently, a new extension, DVB-S2X was approved. It was designed to cope with increased demand introduced by HDTV and data services. However, DVB-S2X is not backward compatible with DVB-S2, and that poses a problem for manufacturers and operators. In this paper we propose using lower roll-off factor (ROF) for the DVB-S2 waveform, considering that reduced ROF contributes significantly to the spectral efficiency obtained by DVB-S2X in typical scenarios. That will keep it backward compatible, with slight degradation, but without forcing the market to implement full scale replacement of deployed equipment. In this paper we study the expected degradation in performance, as well as implementation issues that might be encountered. We demonstrate, by measurements using standard equipment, that this degradation is small and that the proposed migration path from DVB-S2 to a more advanced technology is a viable solution.