Physical units & Definitions

B D F G H K M S U W

bit A unit of information representing the physical state of a system having

one of two values, such as on or off.
bit/s Number of bits of information transferred or transmitted every second.

bps Alternative expression for bit/s.

kbit/s Information transfer rate, equal to 1,000 bit/s.
Mbit/s Information transfer rate, equal to 1,000,000 bit/s.
byte A sequence of bits processed as one unit of information. A byte is a digital
"word" normally consisting of eight bits.
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dBi The relative gain of an antenna with respect to an equivalent isotropic

antenna, expressed on the decibel logarithmic scale.
dBW The power of a signal in watts, expressed on the decibel logarithmic
scale.
dBW/m2 Power of a radio wave incident on a surface area of one square metre,
measured in watts and expressed on the decibel logarithmic scale
dBK The equivalent noise temperature of a device in kelvin, expressed on
the decibel logarithmic scale.
dB/K Units used to express the Figure of Merit or G/T of an earth station,
with the dimensions of 1/kelvin, expressed on the decibel logarithmic
scale.
decibel A unit for comparing two currents, voltages or power levels based on a
(dB) logarithmic scale. It is used particularly for expressing the difference
between very large and very small values
(expression: R = 10*log10(r), where r is the linear ratio and R is the
ratio in dB).
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frequency The number of times that an electrical or electromagnetic signal

repeats itself in a specified time. It is usually expressed in cycles per
second, or hertz (Hz). Satellite transmission frequencies are usually
expressed in gigahertz (GHz).
frequency A range of frequencies used for transmission or reception of radio
band waves (e.g. 10.7 GHz to 12.75 GHz).
frequency A particular distribution of electromagnetic radiation with frequency,
spectrum which is characteristic of the source of the emission. In satellite
communication systems, the spectrum of a transmitted signal
depends upon the modulation scheme employed. The term "frequency
spectrum" is also used more generally to refer to a continuous range
of frequencies.
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gigahertz
Unit of frequency equal to 1,000,000,000 Hz.
(GHz)

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hertz (Hz) SI unit of frequency, equivalent to one cycle per second. The
frequency of a periodic phenomenon that has a periodic time of
one second.
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kelvin (K) Basic SI unit of thermodynamic temperature.

kilohertz
Unit of frequency equal to 1,000 Hz.
(kHz)
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megahertz
Unit of frequency equal to 1,000,000 Hz.
(MHz)
Msymbol/s Unit of data transmission rate for a radio link, equal to 1,000,000
symbol/s. Can be directly related to the bandwidth required to
establish the transmission link (e.g. 33 MHz for a transmission
rate of 27.5 Msymbol/s).
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symbol A unique signal state of a modulation scheme used on a

transmission link, which conveys one or more information bits to
the receiver.
symbol/s The number of symbols transmitted every second.
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UTC Coordinated Universal Time. A time-scale which forms the basis

of a coordinated dissemination of standard frequencies and time
signals throughout the world.
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watt (W) SI unit of power, equal to 1 joule/second.

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Satellite Terminology
A B C D E F G H I K L
M N O P R S T U V X Y

Adjacent Unwanted electrical interference from signals that are

Channel immediately adjacent in frequency to the desired signal. This
Interference can arise due to imperfections in the transmission channel
and/or equipment.
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 Antenna The process of optimising the orientation of a satellite
Alignment antenna's main direction of sensitivitytowards the satellite to
maximise the received signal level and to minimise the
chance of receiving unwanted interference from other satellite
systems. A commonly-used alternative expressions is
"antenna pointing".
Antenna Noise A receiving antenna collects noise from radiating bodies
Temperature falling within its radiation pattern. For an on-ground receiving
antenna, this includes contributions from the sky and from
the surroundings (the earth). The combined affect of these
noise sources is modelled by an equivalent noise temperature
for the antenna, which varies with elevation angle and
antenna size.
Attenuation The measure of the weakening of a signal (loss) that occurs
as it travels through a device or transmission medium (e.g.
radio waves through the atmosphere, an electrical signal
through a cable). Attenuation is usually measured in decibels.
Availability The amount of time that the quality of a telecommunication
service or communications link equals or exceeds a specified
minimum value. For satellite communication links the
availability is usually expressed as a percentage of the
average year. See also Outage.
Azimuth The pointing direction of an antenna measured in the local
horizontal plane in a clockwise direction from north. It is the
horizontal co-ordinate that is used to align a satellite
antenna. See also Elevation.
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Band Switching The process of selecting one of two frequency bands (the "low
band" or the "high band") for reception of satellite signals.
Frequency band switching is implemented in dual-band LNBs
by changing the frequency of the local oscillator reference
signal that is used to downconvert the received signals to IF.
Bandwidth The range of frequencies used for a particular radio
transmission (e.g. 36 MHz). It is the difference between the
lowest and highest transmission frequencies used by a signal.
Beacon A highly stable radio frequency signal, which is used by earth
stations equipped with an automatically (satellite) tracking
system. Beacons can be generated on-board the satellite, or
transmitted from the ground and relayed through the
satellite. When generated on-board the satellite, they are also
known as satellite or on-board beacons and sometimes carry
telemetry signals (see Telemetry)
Beam A unidirectional flow of radio waves concentrated in a
particular direction. A term commonly used to refer to an
antenna's radiation pattern by analogy with a light beam. It is
most often used to describe the radiation pattern of satellite
antennas. The intersection of a satellite beam with the earth's
surface is referred to as the (beam's) footprint.
Beamwidth A measure of the ability of an antenna to focus signal energy
towards a particular direction in space (e.g. towards the
satellite for a ground-based transmitting antenna), or to
collect signal energy from a particular direction in space (e.g.
from the satellite for a ground-based receiving antenna). The
beamwidth is measured in a plane containing the direction of
maximum signal strength. It is usually expressed as the
angular separation between the two directions in which the
signal strength is reduced to one-half of the maximum value
(the -3 db half-power points).

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 Bit Error Rate An overall measure of the quality of a received digital bit
(BER) stream. It is the ratio of the number of information bits that
are received in error to the total number of bits received,
averaged over a period of time.
Boresight The direction of maximum antenna gain. For a receiving
antenna, the boresight is aligned with the satellite as
accurately as possible for maximum received signal strength.
Bouquet A collection of digital multimedia services marketed as a
single package, often transmitted in a single data stream.
See also Digital Multiplexing.
BSS Broadcasting Satellite Service. Typically used to refer to a
range of frequencies intended for direct reception of satellite
television and entertainment services. These frequencies are
subject to internationally-agreed regulations that govern their
use and are designed to ensure that all countries are able to
offer services of this nature. In Europe, the BSS downlink
frequency range is 11.7 - 12.5 GHz.
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C/I Carrier-to-Interference-Ratio. A measure of the quality of a

signal at the receiver input. It is the ratio of the power of the
carrier to the power of interference arising from man-made
sources, measured within a specified bandwidth (usually the
modulated carrier's bandwidth). It is usually expressed in
decibels. The higher the ratio, the better quality of the
received signal.
C/N Carrier-to-Noise-Ratio. A measure of the quality of a
modulated carrier at the receiver input. It is the ratio of the
power of the carrier to the power of the noise introduced in
the transmission medium, measured within a specified
bandwidth (usually the modulated carrier's bandwidth). It is
usually expressed in decibels. The higher the ratio, the better
quality of the received carrier.
C/(N+I) Carrier-to-Noise-plus-Interference-Ratio. A measure of the
quality of a signal at the receiver input. It is the ratio of the
power of the carrier to the combined power of noise and
man-made interference, measured within a specified
bandwidth (usually the modulated carrier's bandwidth). It is
usually expressed in decibels. The higher the ratio, the better
quality of the received signal.
Capacity A proportion of the satellite's bandwidth and power which is
used to establish one or more communication channel.
Channel A band of radio frequencies assigned for a particular purpose,
usually for the establishment of one complete communication
link, or a path for an electrical signal. This term is often used
interchangeably with Transponder, but in general the channel
bandwidth is less than the transponder bandwidth.
Circular Orbit A satellite orbit in which the distance between the centres of
mass of the satellite and of the primary body (the earth) is
constant.
Circular A circularly-polarised wave, in which the electric field vector,
Polarisation observed in any fixed plane normal to the direction of
propagation, rotates with time and traces a circle in the plane
of observation. Unlike linear polarisation, circular polarisation
does not require alignment of earth station and satellite
antennas with the polarisation of the radio waves.
Clarke Belt The circular orbit at approximately 35,800 km above the
equator, where the satellites travel at the same speed as the

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 earth's rotation (Geostationary Orbit) and thus appear to be
stationary to an observer on Earth. Named after Arthur C.
Clarke who first postulated the idea of geostationary
communication satellites.
Clear Sky A term describing the weather conditions encountered at the
terrestrial end of an earth-space path of a satellite
communication link. It is used to describe the condition where
the attenuation of radio waves caused by precipitation (rain,
snow, sleet, dew, etc.) is lowest (i.e. cloud-free sky and good
visibility).
Collective
See Community Reception.
Reception
Collocated Two or more satellites occupying approximately the same
geostationary orbital position such that the angular
separation between them is very small when viewed from the
ground. The satellites appear to be exactly collocated to a
small receiving antenna. In reality, the satellites are kept
several kilometres apart in space to avoid collisions. An
example of a collocated satellite system is the EUTELSAT HOT
BIRD™ system located at the 13º East geostationary orbital
position.
Community The reception of satellite television and entertainment
Reception services for distribution to a group of the general public at
one location (e.g. in a block of flats), or through a distribution
system covering a limited area (e.g. a local cable network).
The receiving system is usually more complex with a larger
antenna than that used for individual (Direct-To-Home)
reception.
Conditional A system for restricting access to a particular service to
Access (CA) authorised users only (e.g. subscribers to a particular digital
bouquet, purchasers of individual pay-per-view events), by
means of encryption and authorised decoding.
Coverage The geographical area in which satellite signals can be
transmitted or received with sufficient quality when using
appropriately sized earth stations. Satellite coverages are
usually communicated in the form of footprints displaying
satellite G/T, EIRP or other quantity, such as the antenna size
required for good quality reception of a particular service.
Cross Interference caused by the modulation of one carrier affecting
Modulation another signal. It is usually due to nonlinear device operation,
which can be caused by overloading an amplifier, and is
worsened by signal power level imbalances (e.g. at the
receiver input in the head-end of a cable distribution
network).
Cross-Polar Used to refer to a signal that has the opposite (orthogonal)
polarisation to a given signal.
Cross-Polar (XPD). The ratio of the signal power received (or transmitted)
Discrimination by an antenna on one polarisation (the polarisation of the
desired signal) to the signal power received (transmitted) on
the opposite polarisation. This ratio is usually expressed in
decibels. It is a measure of the ability of the antenna to
detect (emit) signals on one polarisation and to reject signals
at the same frequency having the opposite polarisation
Cross-Polar (XPI). The ratio of the signal power received (or transmitted)
Isolation by an earth station on one polarisation (the desired signal) to
the signal power received (transmitted) on the same
polarisation but originating from a cross-polar signal. This
ratio is usually expressed in decibels. It is a measure of
interference from cross-polar signals into the desired signal,
which occurs in all practical systems that exploit both
orthogonal polarisation. Strictly speaking, the terms "cross-
polar isolation" and "cross-polar discrimination" have different

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DVB Digital Video Broadcasting . A coherent set of European

standards for transmission and reception of digital television
signals via satellite, cable or terrestrial means, developed
under the auspices of the Digital Video Broadcasting project
and formalised by the European Telecommunication
Standards Institute (ETSI). Although European, the standards
have been adopted in many countries worldwide. There are
many standards within the DVB family, including
specifications for satellite (DVB-S), cable (DVB-C) and
terrestrial (DVB-T) transmission and reception.
DBS Direct Broadcast Satellite. A general term that is commonly
used to describe satellites and satellite systems that
broadcast information directly to individual end-users.
Direct-to-Home The process of delivering satellite signals directly to individual
(DTH) households, or receiving satellite signals directly in the home
via an individual reception system (dish).
Downlink The part of a satellite communications link that involves
signal (re-) transmission from the satellite and reception on
the ground. See also Uplink.
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Earth-Space Any communications link between an earth station and a

Link satellite (uplink or downlink).
Elevation The angle measured in the local vertical plane between the
satelliteand the local horizon. It is the vertical co-ordinate
that is used to align a satellite antenna. See also Azimuth.
Earth Station An installation (antenna and associated equipment) located
on the earth's surface and intended for communication with
one or more satellites. The term is usually understood to
refer to the ensemble of equipment that is needed to effect
communications via satellite.
Eclipse The total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by
another. The events that most affect satellites are eclipses of
the Sun by the Earth or the Moon, which deprive the satellite
of its usual source of power (solar energy) and cause it to
cool down rapidly because it is no longer heated by the Sun.
The satellite is designed to cope with such extreme events.
Normally, there is no effect on the communications services
provided by the satellite during eclipse.
EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated Power. A measure of the signal
strength that a satellite transmits towards the earth, or an
earth station towards a satellite, expressed in dBW.
EPG Electronic Programme Guide. A graphical user interface
generated by a digital satellite receiver and displayed on the
user's television screen. It provides information on the timing
and content of television programmes, which is conveyed in
the digital signals received from the satellite. Its primary
purpose is to help the user to rapidly identify and select
programmes of interest, but it may also support other
interactive services.
EBU European Broadcasting Union. An organisation that brings
together the main European broadcasters and, amongst other

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 things, works on new standards which then require ETSI
(European Telecommunications Standards Institute) approval.
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Figure of The ratio of the maximum gain of a receiving antenna to the

Merit receiving system's equivalent noise temperature. This value is
usually expressed in dB/K. It is a measure of the ability of an earth
station to receive a satellite signal with good quality (high carrier-to-
noise ratio). In general, the G/T increases with increasing antenna
diameter. See also G/T.
Fixed The assignment of a fixed amounts of satellite capacity to particular
Assignment earth stations regardless of their traffic requirements, which may
fluctuate over a period of time. See also On-Demand Assignment.
Footprint The geographic area over which a satellite antenna receives or
directs its signals. There is often a collection of concentric footprints,
each representing a particular satellite EIRP or G/T. These quantities
can be related to the size of the antenna that is needed on the
ground to receive or transmit a particular service respectively.
FSS Fixed Satellite Service. In general, this refers to any satellite
communication service between earth stations located at fixed
geographic positions. However, this term is often used to refer to
the "unplanned" frequency bands that are not subject to the
internationally-agreed regulations that govern the use of the BSS
frequencies. The downlink FSS frequencies in Europe are 10.7 - 11.7
GHz and 12.5 - 12.75 GHz.
Frequency A technique for utilising a specified range of frequencies more than
Reuse once within the same satellite system so that the total capacity of
the system is increased without increasing its allocated bandwidth.
Frequency reuse schemes require sufficient isolation between the
signals that use the same frequencies so that mutual interference
between them is controlled to an acceptable level. Frequency reuse
is achieved by using orthogonal polarisation states
(horizontal/vertical for linear, or LHC/RHC for circular) for
transmission and/or by using satellite antenna (spot) beams that
serve separate, non-overlapping geographic regions.
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Gain (Antenna) A measure of the amplifying or focussing power of an

antenna when transmitting to, or receiving from, a
particular direction in space. The gain of an antenna is the
ratio of the power radiated (or received) per unit solid angle
by the antenna in a given direction to the power radiated (or
received) per unit solid angle by an isotropic antenna fed
with the same power. The gain is usually expressed in dBi.
Geostationary An object orbiting the earth at such speed that it appears to
remain stationary with respect to the earth's surface. See
also Clarke Belt.
Geostationary A satellite that appears to be located at a fixed point in
Satellite space when viewed from the earth's surface.
Geostationary The orbit of a geosynchronous satellite whose orbit lies in
Orbit the plane of the earth's equator.
Geosynchronous An object orbiting the earth at the earth's rotational speed
and with the same direction of rotation. The object will
appear at the same position in the sky at a particular time
each day, but will not appear stationary if not orbiting in the
equatorial plane.
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 Ground Segment The ground segment consists of all the earth stations that
are operating within a particular satellite system or network.
These can be connected to the end-user's equipment
directly or via a terrestrial network.
Ground Station An alternative expression for Earth Station.
G/T See Figure of Merit.
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High Band The upper part of the Ku-band downlink frequency range, from
11.7 GHz to 12.75 GHz.
Horizontal Type of linear polarisation where the electric field is
Polarisation approximately aligned with the local horizontal plane at an on-
ground transmission or reception point. See also frequency reuse.
HPA High Power Amplifier. A device that accepts a relatively weak
input signal and boosts it to a power level that is suitable for
transmission over an earth-space link.
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Inclination The angle between the plane of the orbit of a satellite and
the Equatorial plane. A orbit of a perfectly-geostationary
satellite has an inclination of
Inclined Orbit An orbit that approximates the geostationary orbit but
whose plane is tilted slightly with respect to the Equatorial
plane, with the consequence that the satellite appears to
move about its nominal position in a daily "figure-of-eight"
motion when viewed from the ground. Satellites are often
allowed to drift into an inclined orbit near the end of their
nominal lifetime in order to conserve fuel on-board the
satellite, which would otherwise be used to correct this
natural drift caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and
the Moon.
Individual The direct reception of satellite signals by simple domestic
Reception installations, in particular those equipped with a small
antenna. See also Direct-to-Home and Community
Reception.
IBO Input Back-Off. The ratio of the signal power measured at
the input to a high power amplifier to the input signal power
that produces the maximum signal power at the amplifier's
output. The input backoff is expressed in decibels as either a
positive or negative quantity. It can be applied to a single
carrier at the input to the HPA ("carrier IBO"), or to the
ensemble of input signals ("total IBO").
Interference Any undesired signal that tends to interfere with the
reception of radio waves. It can be caused by transmissions
within the same satellite system, by transmissions within
other satellite systems that use the same frequencies, or
from ground-based sources (e.g. point-to-point radio links,
car ignition noise, etc.).
Intermodulation Mutual interference between signals spaced apart in
frequency after non-linear amplification by a common
amplifier. In satellite communication systems the
phenomenon of intermodulation is usually only significant
after the high power amplifier in an earth station or a
satellite transponder. It is controlled by means of the
IBO/OBO of the amplifier.

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 IRD Integrated Receiver-Decoder. A indoor device accepting
signals from at least one LNB, which recovers the original
signal from the signal delivered by the LNB. It includes a
built-in decoder for reception of services that are protected
by a Conditional Access system, subject to authorisation
from the service provider. A plug-in "smart card" is often
used for authorisation purposes.
Used to refer to a range of frequencies that are available for
use by satellite communication systems at around 30 GHz
for the uplink and 20 GHz for the downlink
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Ku-Band Used to refer to a range of frequencies that are available for

use by satellite communication systems at around 30 GHz for
the uplink and 20 GHz for the downlink.
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LHC(P) Left-hand polarised wave. An elliptically- or circularly-

polarised wave, in which the electric field vector, observed in
any fixed plane normal to the direction of propagation, whilst
looking in the direction of propagation, rotates with time in a
left-hand or anticlockwise direction.
Linear Describes a wave in which the electric field vector, observed
Polarisation in any fixed plane normal to the direction of propagation,
maintains a constant direction with time. With linear
polarisation, the earth station and satellite antennas of a
particular earth-space link must be precisely aligned so that
their reference polarisation directions coincide, in order to
obtain maximum reception quality.
Low Band The lower part of the Ku-band downlink frequency range,
from 10.7 GHz to 11.7 GHz.
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Margin The difference in decibels between the C/(N+I) achieved at

the receiver input under clear sky conditions to the minimum
C/(N+I) required for just acceptable transmission quality.
Also referred to as the "Rain Margin".
MCPC Multiple Channel Per Carrier. Refers to the multiplexing a
number of digital channels (video programmes, audio
programmes and data services) into a common digital bit
stream, which is then used to modulate a single carrier that
conveys all of the services to the end user. The single carrier
supports multiple communication channels, hence the phase
"multiple channel per carrier". The term MCPC is frequency
used in the context of DVB systems, where the composite
digital signal is referred to as a Transport Stream.
Multibeam Generally refers to the use of multiple antenna beams on
board the satellite to cover a contiguous geographical area,
instead of a single wide-area beam. Multibeam architectures
are often considered for satellites operating in the Ka-band,
which is characterised by narrower beamwidths with respect
to the Ku-band. Single, wide-area beams predominate in the
latter.

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 Multicrypt DVB conditional access option based a detachable Conditional
Access (CA) module, which is supplied by the service provider
to each subscriber. The CA module is connected to the
subscriber's IRD via a standardised interface (the DVB
Common Interface). Multicrypt has the advantage that the
same IRD can be used to receive services from providers
using different and incompatible conditional access systems.
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Noise Any undesired electrical disturbance in a circuit or

communication channel. When combined with a received
signal, it affects the receiver's ability to correctly reproduce
the original signal. Also known as Thermal Noise.
Noise Figure A method for quantifying the electrical noise generated by a
practical device. The noise figure is the ratio of the noise
power at the output of a device to the noise power at the
input to the device, where the input noise temperature is
equal to the reference temperature (290 K). The noise figure
is usually expressed in decibels.
Noise A mathematical convenience for predicting the influence of
Temperature noise in a communications system. It is a measure of the
noise power generated by a practical device, expressed as
the equivalent temperature of a resistor which, when placed
at the input of a perfect noise-free device, generates the
same amount of output noise. The noise temperature is
usually expressed in kelvin or dBK.
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OBO Output Back-Off. The ratio of the signal power measured at

the output of a high power amplifier to the maximum output
signal power. The output backoff is expressed in decibels as
either a positive or negative quantity. It can be applied to a
single carrier at the output to the HPA ("carrier OBO"), or to
the ensemble of output signals ("total OBO").
OBP On-board Processing. A general term that refers to signal
processing functions implemented on-board the satellite that
go beyond the amplification and frequency conversion
performed in conventional, transparent satellite systems. On-
board processing is usually but not necessarily implemented
digitally, and may or may not include signal regeneration.
Skyplex is a practical example of OBP.
Off-Axis Any direction in space that does not correspond to an
antenna's boresight direction.
On-Demand The assignment of variable amounts of satellite capacity to
Assignment particular earth stations according to their fluctuating traffic
requirements (according to demand). See also Fixed
Assignment. On-demand assignment office more efficient
satellite capacity utilisation at the expense of system
complexity.
Orbit The path described by the centre of mass of a satellite in
space, subjected to natural forces, principally gravitational
attraction, and occasional low-energy corrective forces
exerted by a propulsive device in order to achieve and
maintain the desired path.
Orbital Plane The plane containing the centre of mass of the earth and the
velocity vector (direction of motion) of a satellite.

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 Outage An outage is said to occur when the quality of a
telecommunication service or communications link falls below
a specified minimum value for acceptable communications
performance. See also Availability.
Out-of-Band Any emission on a frequency or frequencies outside the
Emission bandwidth of a signal which results from the modulation
process. Out-of-band emissions are a potential source of
interference to other services and need to be carefully
controlled.
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Payload Refers to all equipment on-board a satellite that is dedicated

(Satellite) to the reception, frequency conversion, processing and
retransmission of communication signals, including the
satellite antennas, but excluding support equipment such as
the platform (physical structure), power supplies and thermal
control equipment.
Pay-Per-View The purchasing of programmes and services by a television
viewer or service user on an individual basis (e.g. televised
coverage of a sports event). Access to purchased material is
controlled by means of a Conditional Access system.
Pointing Angles The elevation and azimuth angles which specify the direction
of a satellite from a point on the earth's surface.
Pointing Error A value which quantifies the amount by which an antenna is
(Antenna) misaligned with the satellite's position in space (see
Alignment). This is either expressed as an angular error, or
as a loss in signal strength with respect to the maximum that
would be achieved with a perfectly aligned antenna.
Polarisation The phenomenon in which radio waves are restricted to
certain directions of electrical and magnetic field variations,
where these directions are perpendicular to the direction of
wave travel. By convention, the polarisation of a radio wave
is defined by the direction of the electric field vector. Four
senses of polarisation are used in satellite transmissions:
horizontal (X) linear polarisation, vertical (Y) linear
polarisation, right-hand circular polarisation and left-hand
circular polarisation.
Polarisation The process of aligning the reference polarisation plane of an
Alignment linearly-polarised antenna with a particular reference
direction. For individual and collective systems receiving
linearly-polarised signals, this consists of rotating the LNB
about the feed axis so that its radio wave detector is aligned
with the electric field vector of the incoming signal (to
achieve detected signal strength).
Polarisation The process of selecting one of two orthogonal polarisations
Switching (e.g. linear horizontal or linear vertical) for reception of
satellite signals. Polarisation switching is implemented in the
LNB or, more rarely, in a separate device inserted between
the feedhorn and the LNA/LNB or integrated with the
feedhorn.
Polar Mount A mechanical support structure for an earth station antenna
that permits all satellites in the geosynchronous arc to be
scanned with movement of only one axis.
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Radiation A three-dimensional representation of the gain of a transmit

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 Pattern or receive antenna as a function of the direction or radiation
or reception.
Rain Margin See Margin.
Receiver Noise The equivalent noise temperature of a complete receiving
Temperature system, excluding contributions from the antenna and the
physical connection to the antenna, referred to the receiver
input.
Regenerative A term used to describe satellite systems/transponders that
recover the original signals from the modulated signals
received from the ground, process them in some way, then
use them to modulate carriers for retransmission at the
downlink frequencies, possibly with a different format.
Regenerative repeaters are complex are often feature in the
designs of future, advanced satellite systems.
Repeater A device that amplifies or augments incoming electrical
signals and re?transmits them towards the earth station(s) at
a different frequency. In the satellite context, the term
"repeater" usually refers to all Payload equipment, with the
exception of the satellite antennas.
RHC(P) Right-hand polarised wave. An elliptically- or circularly-
polarised wave, in which the electric field vector, observed in
any fixed plane normal to the direction of propagation, whilst
looking in the direction of propagation, rotates with time in a
right-hand or clockwise direction.
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S/N Signal-to-Noise Ratio. A measure of the quality of an

electrical signal, usually at the receiver output. It is the ratio
of the signal level to the noise level, measured within a
specified bandwidth (typically the bandwidth of the signal). It
is usually expressed in decibels. The higher the ratio, the
better quality of the signal. See also C/N.
Satellite Link A radio link between a transmitting earth station and a
receiving earth station through a communications satellite. A
satellite link comprises one uplink and one downlink.
Satellite One or more communications satellites and the cooperating
Network earth stations.
Satellite A space system using one or more artificial satellites orbiting
System the earth.
Saturation The operation of a power amplifier, most often a satellite
TWTA, at its maximum output power level ("saturated" power
level).
SCPC Single Channel Per Carrier. In SCPC systems, each
communication signal is individually modulated onto its own
carrier which is used to convey that signal to the end user. A
number of similar carriers share a common satellite
transponder and use a unique portion of its bandwidth. Each
carrier supports a single communication channel only (e.g.
one-half of a voice circuit), hence the phrase "single channel
per carrier".
Shaped Beam The radiation pattern of a satellite antenna that has been
designed so that its footprint follows the boundary of a
specified geographical area (the area of service provision) as
closely as possible. Shaped beams maximise the antenna
gain over the service area and reduce the likelihood of
interference into systems serving other geographical areas.
Sidelobe Part of an antenna's radiation pattern which can detect or
radiate signals in an unwanted direction (i.e. off-axis), which

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 can produce interference into other systems or susceptibility
to interference from other systems. The larger the side lobes,
the more noise and interference an antenna can detect.
Sidelobe levels are determined by the design of the antenna.
Simulcast Simultaneous transmission of an identical programme or
service using two or more standards or transmission media.
Used to refer to a technique pioneered by EUTELSAT for
transmitting one broadcast analogue FM television carrier and
one digital television carrier in a single satellite transponder
that would normally only support the FM TV carrier.
Simulcrypt DVB conditional access option based on a commercial
agreement between service providers, which allows access to
a common population of proprietary IRDs. The IRD hardware
is usually specific to the conditional access system and cannot
be used to receive services delivered by service providers
that are not party to the agreement.
Skyplex A system which multiplexes several digital television and
entertainment services on-board the satellite, instead of on
the ground, and retransmits them via a single, DVB-
compliant carrier. This permits services to be delivered
directly from different geographical locations to end-users
located within a broadcast beam and equipped with standard
DVB-compliant IRDs. The Skyplex system requires advanced
on-board processing equipment for signal reception,
multiplexing and retransmission.
SMATV Satellite Master Antenna TV. Collective television reception
and distribution system serving a local population of users
collocated in a block of flats, a hotel or other group-housing
complex. SMATV systems use one or more high quality,
centrally located antenna to receive the satellite signals, plus
UHF and/or VHF antennas to receive local terrestrial
broadcast services. The satellite and terrestrial signals are
distributed to the end-users via a dedicated cable distribution
network. Several different cable distribution architectures are
possible.
Space Segment Commonly used to refer to the satellites of a particular
satellite communication system.
Spot Beam An antenna radiation pattern designed to serve a relatively
small or isolated geographic area, usually with high gain. The
radio frequency equivalent of a spotlight.
Spurious Any emission on a frequency or frequencies outside the
Emission bandwidth of a signal including harmonic emissions, parasitic
emissions, intermodulation products and frequency
conversion products. Spurious emissions are a potential
source of interference to other services and need to be
carefully controlled.
Steerable Beam An antenna beam that can be repointed by mechanical and/or
electrical means. Usually used to refer to relatively narrow
satellite beams that can be steered over a part or the whole
of the portion of the earth's surface that is visible from the
satellite's orbital position.
Sun Outage Sun-Satellite Conjunction can cause a large increase in the
noise received by an earth station that is pointed towards the
satellite, which degrades the signal quality and can even
cause the signal to be lost for a short time. Whilst this is an
unavoidable physical phenomenon, it does not affect the
relatively small antennas that are used for individual and
collective reception of broadcast television and entertainment
services.
Sun-Satellite The alignment of the Sun with the satellite as seen from an
Conjunction earth station, which takes place twice a year for several
minutes around local midday. This event can affect the

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 performance of receiving earth stations. See Sun Outage.
System Noise The equivalent noise temperature of a complete receiving
Temperature system, taking into account contributions from the antenna,
the receiver and the transmission line that interconnects
them, referred to the receiver input.
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Telecommand The transmission of coded signals towards a satellite to

(TC) initiate, modify or terminate equipment functions on-board
the satellite.
Telemetry (™) Coded radiocommunication from the satellite to the ground
for the transmission of data relating to the functioning and
configuration of the satellite.
Thermal Noise Any undesired electrical disturbance in a circuit or
communication channel. The term "thermal" refers to the fact
that the magnitude of the noise generated by an object is
dependent upon the object's physical temperature.
Tracking The process of continuously adjusting the orientation of an
antenna so that its boresight follows the movements of the
satellite about its nominal position. Used in earth stations
equipped with large antennas and earth stations operating to
satellites in inclined orbit.
Transparent A term used to describe satellite systems or satellite
transponders that do not alter the basic format of the signals
they receive before retransmitting them. A transparent
transponder simply converts signals to a lower frequency and
amplifies them prior to retransmission, as opposed to
regenerative transponders or on-board processing (see
Regenerative and OBP respectively).
Transponder A transmitter-receiver device that transmits signals
automatically when it receives pre-determined signals. The
term "satellite transponder" refers to a transmitter-receiver
subsystem on-board the satellite that uses a single high
power amplification chain and processes a particular range of
frequencies (the "transponder bandwidth"). There are many
transponders on a typical satellite, each capable of supporting
one or more communication channels.
TVRO Television Receive-Only. An earth station incapable of
transmitting to the satellite and intended for the individual or
collective reception of television (multimedia) services from
the satellite.
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Uplink The part of a satellite communications link that involves

signal transmission from the ground and reception on-board
the satellite. See also Downlink.
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Vertical Type of linear polarisation where the electric field is

Polarisation approximately aligned with the local vertical plane at an on-
ground transmission or reception point. See also frequency
reuse.

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X-Polarisation A more precise definition of horizontal linear polarisation. X-

polarisation is defined with respect to a particular direction
from the satellite towards the earth, allowing precise
calculation of the polarisation alignment angle for any given
geographic location.
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