Capacity dimensioning and routing for hybrid satellite and terrestrial networks

For future commercial broadband data satellite networks, satellite network topology, link capacity, and routing have major impacts on the cost of the network and the amount of revenue the network can generate. We propose a unified mathematical framework using a two-stage stochastic programming technique to assist network designers in selecting the most cost-effective network topology for data applications. The solution to the stochastic programming formulation gives optimal link capacities and an optimal routing strategy for different network topologies, taking into account uncertainties in longterm aggregate traffic statistics estimation. In particular, we give the optimal topology selection criteria for a general GEO satellite network and identify regions where a hybrid satellite-terrestrial topology is the most cost effective.