VSAT–very small aperture terminal

VSAT (Very Small Aperture

Terminal)
 A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), is
a two-way satellite ground station with a
dish antenna that is smaller than 3 meters.
 VSATs access satellites to relay data from
small remote earth stations (terminals) to
other terminals (in mesh configurations)
or master earth station "hubs" (in star
configurations).
Motivation to use VSAT

VS

 Hard to reach areas

 Reliability
 Time to deploy (4-6 months vs. 1-2 weeks)
 Cost ( If distance is more than 500 km then the
VSAT solution is more cost-effective as
compared to the optical fiber.)
 Emergency Situations
 Satellite Services & Applications
Voice/Video/Data Communications GPS/Navigation
• Mobile Telephony • Position Location
•Rural Telephony • Timing
• News Gathering/Distribution • Search and Rescue
• Internet Trunking • Mapping
• Corporate VSAT Networks • Fleet Management
• Distance-Learning • Security & Database Access
• Videoconferencing • Emergency Services
• Business Television
• Broadcast and Cable Relay
• VOIP & Multi-media over IP
Remote Sensing
• Pipeline Monitoring
• Infrastructure Planning
Direct-To-Consumer
• Forest Fire Prevention
• Broadband IP
• Urban Planning
• Digital Audio Radio
• Flood and Storm watches
• Interactive Entertainment
• Air Pollution Management
• Video & Data to handhelds
•
 Occasional Use Services
• Newsgathering – First choice
for live coverage, providing
high-bandwidth video links
from remote locations to
capture “breaking news”

• Program Delivery – Broadcasts from television networks

and relayed via satellite
 Users of Satellite
Communications
 Banking Sector
 Data Networks
 Telecommunications (Cellular)
 Power Production
 Infrastructure
 Oil & Gas
 Advantages
 Availability: anywhere—no limitations

 Fast Deployment: Within hours!

 Homogeneity: Same speed and SLA regardless of

location

 Multicast: broadcast schemes which allows broadcast

at no additional cost

 Few Points of Failure: just two on the earth!

 “Typical” Fixed Satellite Network
Applications
• Credit Card Validation
• ATM/Pay at the Pump
• Inventory Control
• Store Monitoring
• Electronic Pricing Network HUB
• Training Videos
• In-Store Audio
• Broadband Internet Access
• Distance Learning

Apartment
Buildings Internet

Gas Stations

Corporate Data
Center/HQ
Branch Offices Corporate Offices Residential

Some large scale corporate networks have as many as 10,000 nodes

Satellite Network Configurations
VSAT
 VSAT Technology
 Bands C-band (4-6 GHz), Ku-band (10-20 GHz)
and Ka-band (20-30 GHz) that require different
licensing approaches.
 Entities
 a) the Space Segment operator; b) the satellite network
operator, who operates one or more Gateway Stations or
Network Control Stations (HUBs) or other ground stations;
c) the Satellite Service Provider; d) the subscriber who uses
individual VSAT equipment
 Connectivity – Point to Point (Mesh), Point to
Multipoint (star, hub at centre), Multipoint to
multipoint (hybrid)
 Orbital Options

 A Geosynchronous satellite (GEO) completes one

revolution around the world every 23 hrs and 56
minutes in order to maintain continuous positioning
above the earth’s sub-satellite point on the equator.

 A medium earth orbit satellite (MEO) requires a

constellation of 10 to 18 satellites in order to
maintain constant coverage of the earth.

 A low earth orbit satellite (LEO) offers reduced

signal loss since these satellites are 20 to 40 times
closer to the earth in their orbits thus allowing for
smaller user terminals/antennas.
 Geostationary Orbit (GEO)
Characteristics of Geostationary (GEO) Orbit Systems
• User terminals do not have to track the satellite
• Only a few satellites can provide global coverage
• Maximum life-time (15 years or more)
• Above Van Allen Belt Radiation
• Often the lowest cost system and simplest in terms of tracking and high
speed switching

Challenges of Geostationary (GEO) Orbit

• Transmission latency or delay of 250 millisecond to complete up/down link
• Satellite antennas must be of larger aperture size to concentrate power and
to create narrower beams for frequency reuse
• Poor look angle elevations at higher latitudes
Geostationary Orbit Today
 VSAT IMPLEMENTATION
 There are basically two ways to implement
a VSAT Architecture

 STAR
 VSATs are linked via a HUB
 MESH
 VSATs are linked together without going
through a large hub
 VSAT STAR ARCHITECTURE

•In this network architecture, all of the traffic is routed

via the master control station, or Hub.
•If a VSAT wishes to communicate with another
VSAT, they have to go via the hub, thus necessitating a
“double hop” link via the satellite.
•Since all of the traffic radiates at one time or another
from the Hub, this architecture is referred to as a STAR
network.
 VSAT STAR ARCHITECTURE
(contd.)

All communications to and

from each VSAT is viathe
Master Control Station or
Hub

Master Control Station

(The Hub)
VSAT
Community
 VSAT MESH ARCHITECTURE

•In this network architecture, each of the VSATs has the

ability to communicate directly with any of the other
VSATs.
•Since the traffic can go to or from any VSAT, this
architecture is referred to as a MESH network.
•It will still be necessary to have network control and
the duties of the hub can either be handled by one of the
VSATs or the master control station functions can be
shared amongst the VSATs.
VSAT MESH ARCHITECTURE

VSAT
Community
 ADVANTAGES OF STAR
 Small uplink EIRP of VSAT (which can be a hand-
held telephone unit) compensated for by large
G/T of the Hub earth station
 Small downlink G/T of user terminal compensated
for by large EIRP of Hub earth station
 Can be very efficient when user occupancy is low
on a per-unit-time basis
 DISADVANTAGES OF STAR

 VSAT terminals cannot communicate

directly with each other; they have to go
through the hub
 VSAT-to-VSAT communications are
necessarily double-hop
 GEO STAR networks requiring double-hops
may not meet user requirements from a
delay perspective
 ADVANTAGES OF MESH
 Users can communicate directly with each
other without being routed via a Hub earth
station
 VSAT-to-VSAT communications are
single-hop.
 GEO MESH networks can be made to meet
user requirements from a delay
perspective.
 DISADVANTAGES OF MESH

 Low EIRP and G/T of user terminals causes

relatively low transponder occupancy
 With many potential user-to-user connections
required, the switching requirements in the
transponder will almost certainly require On-Board
Processing (OBP) to be employed
 OBP is expensive in terms of payload mass and
power requirements
 Opportunities in VSAT technology
 Voice over IP (VoIP) via satellite
 Frame Relay via satellite
 ATM via satellite
 Video-on-demand via satellite
 Multimedia application
 Internet/e-mail connection
 Telemedicine
 Distance learning
 Steps in Installation of a VSAT site

 Technical Site Survey

 Civil Work

 Antenna Mounting

 Pointing of Antenna

 Configuration of ODU
 Steps in Installation of a VSAT site

 Configuration of Indoor Unit

 Testing on RF level

 Interfacing

 BER testing

 Integration (with the BTS/BSC)

 Common Faults/Problems
 Fading (due to rain etc.)

 LOS obstructions

 ODU/IDU malfunctions

 De-pointing of Antenna

 Interference