Experimental investigation of CDMA mobile satellite communication system

The performance of a direct sequence spread spectrum CDMA communication system in an actual land mobile satellite channel is experimentally evaluated. Field test results using the ETS-V satellite in urban and suburban environments at L-band frequency show that this land mobile satellite channel of 3 MHz bandwidth can be seen as a non-frequency selective Rician fading channel as well as a shadowing channel. The bit error performance can be estimated using signal power measurements as if they were narrow band modulation signals. Based on the experimental results of the ETS-V, a prototype system for the personal satellite communication is proposed and field tests are planned on the S-band frequency using the ETS-VI satellite which will be launched in August 1994