An efficient satellite transmission scheme for node interconnection in wideband packet networks

A capacity efficient satellite transmission scheme for the interconnection of widely separated nodes of wideband packet networks is discussed. Load adaptive time division multiple access (LA-TDMA) is used to provide a variable capacity link that adapts to the volume of traffic exchanged between nodes. A network model incorporating the capacity adaptation mechanism is described and used for the simulation of test cases. It is concluded that load adaptive TDMA could provide a capacity advantage over a fixed capacity carrier system. In certain cases of network configuration and traffic statistics, the advantage could be significant. The results of simulated test cases show that the capacity adaptation algorithm performs well