Multiple Access Techniques &

Satellite Link Design

Fundamentals
• Multiple access means access to a given
facility or a resource by multiple users.

• In the context of satellite communication, the

facility is the transponder and the multiple
users are various terrestrial terminals under
the footprint of the satellite.

• The transponder provides the communication

channel(s) that receives the signals beamed at
it via the uplink and then retransmits the
same back to Earth for intended users via the
downlink.
Commonly used multiple access techniques
include the following:

1. Frequency division multiple access (FDMA)

2. Time division multiple access (TDMA)
3. Code division multiple access (CDMA)
4. Space domain multiple access (SDMA)
• In Frequency division multiple access (FDMA),
different Earth stations are able to access the
total available bandwidth in the satellite
transponder(s) by virtue of their different
carrier frequencies, thus avoiding interference
amongst multiple signals.

• Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) is the

process of grouping multiple base band signals
into a single signal so that it could be
transmitted over a single communication
channel without the multiple base band
signals interfering with each other.
Fig: Frequency division multiplexing
Fig: Time division multiplexing
• Here, multiple base band signals modulate
different carrier frequencies called subcarrier
frequencies and the multiplexed signal then
modulates a common relatively higher frequency
carrier, which then becomes the signal to be
transmitted from the Earth station.

• Similarly, other stations may also have similar

frequency division multiplexed signals with a
different final carrier frequency.
• In the case of time division multiple access (TDMA),
different Earth stations in the satellite’s footprint
make use of the transponder by using a single carrier
on a time division basis.

• The composite time multiplexed signal modulates a

high frequency carrier using any of the digital carrier
modulation techniques.

• Multiple time multiplexed signals from other stations

having the same carrier frequency are then able to
access the satellite by allowing each station to
transmit during its allotted time slot
• In the case of code division multiple access
(CDMA), the entire bandwidth of the transponder
is used simultaneously by multiple Earth stations
at all times.

• Each transmitter spreads its signal over the entire

bandwidth, which is much wider than that
required by the signal.

• Interference is avoided as each transmitter uses a

unique code sequence.
Transponder Assignment Modes
• In addition to the multiple access techniques,
there are also certain transponder assignment
modes. The commonly used ones include:

1. Preassigned multiple access (PAMA)

2. Demand assigned multiple access (DAMA)
3. Random multiple access (RMA)
Preassigned multiple access (PAMA)
• The transponder is assigned to the individual user
either permanently for the satellite’s full lifetime or at
least for long durations.

• The pre assignment may be that of a certain frequency

band, time slot or a code.

• When it is used infrequently, a link set-up with

preassigned channels is not only costly to the user but
the link utilization is also not optimum.
Demand assigned multiple access (DAMA)
• This allows multiple users to share a common link wherein
each user is only required to put up a request to the control
station or agency when it requires the link to be used.

• The channel link is only completed as required and a

channel frequency is assigned from the available
frequencies within the transponder bandwidth.

• It is very cost effective for small users who have to pay for
using the transponder capacity only for the time it was
actually used.
Random multiple access (RMA)
• Access to the link or the transponder is by
contention.

• Due to the random nature of transmissions, data

from multiple users may collide.

• In case a collision occurs, it is detected and the data

are retransmitted.

• When all the stations are entirely independent, there

is every likelihood that the messages that collided
would be separated out in time on retransmission.
Frequency Division Multiple Access
(FDMA)
• Different Earth stations are able to access the total available
bandwidth of satellite transponder by virtue of their different
carrier frequencies, thus avoiding interference among
multiple signals.

• The transponder receives transmissions at around 6 GHz and

retransmits them at around 4 GHz.

• Multichannel per carrier (MCPC) technique, where the Earth

station frequency multiplexes several channels into one
carrier base band assembly, which then frequency modulates
an RF carrier and transmits it to an FDMA satellite
transponder.
Fig: Carrier frequencies for a C band transponder for both uplink and downlink channels
Fig: Basic concept of FDMA
• Single channel per carrier (SCPC), each signal channel
modulates a separate RF carrier, which is then
transmitted to the FDMA transponder.

• The modulation technique used here could either be

frequency modulation (FM) in case of analogue
transmission or phase shift keying (PSK) for digital
transmission.

• No complex timing and synchronizing techniques are

required.

• The maximum number of carriers that can access the

transponder is given by (n = BTR/BC), where BTR is
the total transponder bandwidth and BC is the
carrier bandwidth.
Demand Assigned FDMA
• The transponder frequency is subdivided into a number
of channels and the Earth station is assigned a channel
depending upon its request to the control station.

• Assignment may be carried out either by using the

polling method or by using the random access method.

• In the polling method, the master Earth station

continuously polls all of the Earth stations in sequence
and if the request is encountered, frequency slots are
assigned to that Earth station which had made the
request.

• Delay is more so when the number of Earth stations is

large.
• In the random access method, the problem of
delays does not exist.

• In the case of centrally controlled random access,

the Earth stations make requests through the
master Earth station as the need arises.

• In distributed control random access, the

control is exercised at each Earth station.
Pre-assigned FDMA

• In a preassigned FDMA system, the frequency

slots are pre-assigned to the Earth stations.

• The slot allocations are pre-determined and

do not offer flexibility. Hence, some slots may
be facing the problem of over-traffic, while
other slots are sitting idle.
Single Channel Per Carrier (SCPC)
Systems - SCPC/FM/FDMA System
• Each signal channel modulates a separate RF
carrier and the modulation system used here is frequency
modulation.

• The transponder bandwidth is subdivided in

such a way that each base band signal channel is allocated
a separate transponder subdivision
and an individual carrier.

• Another advantage of the SCPC/FM/FDMA system is that it

facilitates the use of voice activated carriers
Fig: Transmission path for the SCPC/FM/FDMA system
• This type of SCPC system requires automatic
frequency control to maintain spectrum
centering for individual channels, which is
usually achieved by transmitting a pilot tone
in the centre of the transponder bandwidth.

• Different base band signals frequency-

modulate their respective allocated carriers,
which are combined and then transmitted to
the satellite over the uplink.
SCPC/PSK/FDMA System
• This is the digital form of the SCPC system in which the
modulation technique used is phase
shift keying (PSK).

• SPADE (single channel per carrier PCM multiple access

demand assignment equipment) was the first operational
SCPC/PSK/FDMA system.

• This system employs PCM for base band signal encoding and
QPSK as the carrier modulation technique.

• With this, it is possible to accommodate a 64 kbps voice

channel in a bandwidth of 38.4 kHz as compared to the
requirement of a full 45 kHz in the case of frequency
modulation.
Multiple Channels Per Carrier (MCPC)
Systems
• Multiple signal channels are first grouped
together to form a single base band signal
assembly.

• These grouped base band signals modulate

preassigned carriers which are then transmitted
to the FDMA transponder.
MCPC/FDM/FM/FDMA System
• Multiple base band signals are grouped together by
using frequency division multiplexing to form FDM
base band signals.

• The FDM base band assemblies frequency modulate

pre-assigned carriers and are then transmitted to the
satellite.

• The FDMA transponder receives multiple carriers,

carries out frequency translation and then separates
out individual carriers with the help of appropriate
filters.

• Multiple carriers are then multiplexed and

transmitted back to Earth over the downlink. The
receiving station extracts the channels assigned to
that station.
 MCPC/PCM-TDM/PSK/FDMA System
• Multiple base band signals are first digitally encoded
using the PCM technique and then grouped together to
form a common base band assembly using time
division multiplexing.

• This time division multiplexed bit stream then

modulates a common RF carrier using phase shift
keying as the carrier modulation technique.

• The modulated signal is then transmitted to the

satellite, which uses FDMA to handle multiple carriers.
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
• Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a technique in which
different Earth stations use a single carrier on a time division
basis.

• The traffic bursts from different Earth stations are

synchronized so that all bursts arriving at the transponder are
closely spaced but do not overlap.

• The transponder works on a single burst at a time and

retransmits back to Earth a sequence of bursts.

• All Earth stations can receive the entire sequence and extract
the signal of their interest.

• The disadvantages of TDMA include a requirement for

complex and expensive Earth station equipment and stringent
timing and synchronization requirements.

• TDMA is suitable for digital transmission only.

Code Division Multiple Access CDMA)
• The entire bandwidth of the transponder is used
simultaneously by multiple Earth stations at all times.

• CDMA allows multiple Earth stations to access the same

carrier frequency and bandwidth at the same time.

• Message signal is a PCM bit stream. Each message bit is

combined with a predetermined code bit sequence.

• The bit rate of the PN sequence is kept much higher than the
bit rate of the message signal.

• The spread of the message signal over the entire available

bandwidth of the transponder referred to as spread spectrum
multiple access (SSMA).

• The PN sequence bits are often referred to as ‘chips’ and their

transmission rate as the ‘chip rate’
DS-CDMA Transmission and Reception

Fig: Basic block schematic arrangement of the DS-CDMA transmitter

• The transmitter generates a bit stream by multiplying
in the time domain the message bit stream mi(t) and
the code information ai(t).

• If the bandwidth of the message signal is much smaller

than the bandwidth of the code signal, the product
signal has a bandwidth approaching that of the code
signal.

• The receiver in this case generates a code signal ai(t)

synchronized with the received message.

•
Fig: Basic block schematic arrangement of the
DS-CDMA receiver
If the signals represented by suffix j constitute undesired
signals, i.e. noise, then the bit stream present at the output of
the first stage of the receiver and at the input of the
demodulator is given by
Frequency Hopping CDMA (FH-CDMA) System
• The carrier is sequentially hopped into a series of frequency
slots spread over the entire bandwidth of the satellite
transponder.

• The transmitter transmits a short burst of data on a

narrowband, then tunes to another frequency and transmits
again.

• The transmitter thus hops its frequency over a given

bandwidth several times per second, transmitting one
frequency for a certain period of time, then hopping to
another frequency and transmitting again.

• The pseudorandom code sequence decides the instantaneous

transmission frequency.
 Fig a: Block schematic arrangement of
a typical FH-CDMA transmitter

Fig b: Block schematic arrangement of a

typical FH-CDMA receiver
Time Hopping CDMA (TH-CDMA) System
• The pseudorandom bit sequence determines the
time instant of transmission of information.

• The signal is transmitted by the user in rapid bursts

during time intervals determined by the
pseudorandom code assigned to the user.

• A given user transmits only during one of the M time

slots each frame has been divided into.

• Since each user transmits its data only during one of

the M time slots in each frame, the bandwidth
available to it increases by a factor of M.
Fig a: Block schematic arrangement of a
typical TH-CDMA transmitter

Fig b: Block schematic arrangement

of a typical TH-CDMA receiver
Comparison of DS-CDMA, FH-CDMA and TH-
CDMA Systems
• DS-CDMA system occupies the whole of the available
bandwidth when it transmits.

• FH-CDMA system uses only a small part of the bandwidth

at a given instant of time when it transmits.

• The bandwidth occupied by an FH-CMDA signal for a

given hop frequency depends not only on the bandwidth
of the message signal but also on the shape of the
hopping signal and the hopping frequency.

• In the case of time hopping CDMA (TH-CDMA) the whole

of the available bandwidth is used for short time periods
instead of parts of the bandwidth being used all the time
Frequency–time graphs of (a) DS-CDMA system (b) FH-CDMA system and (c)
TH-CDMA system
Problem
In a DS-CDMA system, the information bit rate and chip rate are
respectively 20 kbps and 20 Mbps. Determine the processing
gain in dB and also determine the noise reduction (in dB)
achievable in this system.

Solution:
Chip rate = 20 Mbps
Information bit rate = 20 kbps
Processing gain = 10 log (chip rate/information bit rate)
= 10 log (20 × 106/20 × 103) = 10 log(1000) = 30 dB
Noise reduction achievable = processing gain = 30 dB
Space Domain Multiple Access
(SDMA)
• Space domain multiple access (SDMA), is a
technique that primarily allows frequency re-use
where adjacent Earth stations within the footprint of
the satellite can use the same carrier transmission
frequency and still avoid co-channel interference by
using orthogonal antenna beam polarization.

• SDMA is usually achieved in conjunction with other

types of multiple access techniques such as FDMA,
TDMA and CDMA.
Frequency Re-use in SDMA
• Beam separation is based on the fact that if two beams
are so shaped that they illuminate two different
regions on the surface of the Earth without
overlapping, then the same frequency band could be
used for the two without causing any mutual
interference.

• Beam polarization, on the other hand, relies on the

principle of using two orthogonally polarized
electromagnetic waves to transmit and receive using
the same frequency band with no mutual interference
between the two.
Fig: Frequency re-use using beam separation
employing(a)Two antennas and(b) Single antenna
SDMA/FDMA System
• The satellite uses fixed links toroute an incoming
uplink signal as received by a receiving antenna
to a particular downlink transmitter antenna.

• The desired fixed links can be set on board the

satellite by using some form of a switch,
which can be selected only occasionally when the
satellite needs to be reconfigured.
Fig: Typical block schematic arrangement of an SDMA/FDMA
system (DEMUX, de-multiplexer)
SDMA/TDMA System
• In conjunction with TDMA, the system allows
TDMA traffic from the uplink beams to be
switched to the downlink beams during the
course of a TDMA frame.

• The link between a certain source–

destination combination exists at a specified
time for the burst duration within the TDMA
frame.
Fig: Typical transponder arrangement for an
SDMA/SS/TDMA system