Bandlimited quasi-synchronous CDMA: a novel satellite access technique for mobile and personal communication systems

Recent trends in digital communications are opening commercial applications to code division multiple access (CDMA). A novel access technique based on bandlimited quasi-synchronous CDMA (BLQS-CDMA) is described, showing all the advantages of synchronizing conventional direct sequence CDMA to drastically reduce the effect of self-noise. Bandlimitation is achieved with no detection loss by means of Nyquist chip shaping, leading to a simple all-digital demodulator structure. Detection losses due to imperfect carrier frequency and chip timing synchronization are analytically derived and numerical results are checked by computer simulations. Impairments due to satellite transponder distortions are evaluated. The full digital modem structure is presented, together with possible applications to mobile and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite communications