Multiuser detection in multibeam satellite systems: Theoretical analysis and practical schemes

The application of multiuser detection has been recently suggested as an effective solution to maximize the achievable rates in multibeam satellite systems. While the possibility of significant theoretical gains has already been proved, the question remains whether these gains can be achieved by practical schemes. In this work, we analyze the performance of coded schemes in two different transmission scenarios. We show that classical single-user codes are not suitable for multiuser applications, and we propose two ways to improve the performance, based on the redesign of the code and of the bit mapping.