Propagation characteristics of land mobile satellite communications in Japan using ETS-V satellite

Using the Engineering Test Satellite-Five (ETS-V), L-band (1.5 GHz) propagation measurements of land mobile satellite communication channels on ordinary roads and expressways in Japan have been carried out, The total distance of the experiments is about 4,000 km. A continuous wave from the ETS-V, is received by a directional phased array antenna (Gain: 12 dBi) installed on the roof of a test van. The experimental results show that expressways and ordinary roads in rural and suburban areas are very suitable for land mobile satellite communication services. The paper describes the field experiments and statistical characteristics of the received signal levels, non-fade/fade duration distributions, fade depth and non-fade/fade state transition frequency