Radio Link Communication Reliability: A Three-Part Design Problem

The degree of reliability required for equipment used in a global communications system must be designed into the equipment from the inception of the original design specification and implemented through all stages of development, procurement, production, and testing. The design of a system based on three basic concepts, redundancy, rugged circuit design, and complete monitoring and alarm facilities, should result in a system capable of successful operation from the standpoint of system reliability in a global communication network. Included are criteria for use by the engineer in designing equipment to attain the desired goals of optimum reliability and minimum maintenance. Examples of actual equipment applications using one or more of these concepts are described, together with performance data obtained with systems using some of these techniques to indicate the improvement in system traffic reliability actually achieved.