NTIPRIT

GMPCS-Satellite Based Mobile

Communication

Subhash Chand
Director( WT)

National Telecommunication Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training

Ghaziabad – 201002. www.ntiprit.gov.in
 Global Mobile Personal
Communication System (via Satellite)
(GMPCS)
 Satellite Based Mobile Communications

• Coverage to ground is provided by a single satellite in

Geostationary orbit (GEO) or a constellation of satellites
in low earth orbit (LEO).

• Gives coverage over wide area.

• Advantageous in sparsely populated areas with wide

coverage.
• Suitable for emergency communication.
 Global Mobile Personal
Communication via Satellite (GMPCS)

Any satellite system

(fixed, mobile, broadband,

narrowband, global, regional,
geostationary, non-
geostationary, existing or
planned)
providing telecommunications
services directly to end users
from a constellation of
satellites.
GMPCS 4
 GMPCS

• Concept discussed at ITU forum in 1996

• Five opinions generated that are to be
followed by an MoU
• Opinions are on setting standards,
operations within national boundaries and
encouraging use in developing countries
• Product has to contain GMPCS MoU Mark
• MoU signed by 167 members of ITU
(details available at ITU website)

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 L-band Ku-band
11 GHz

13 GHz
1.6 GHz
1.5 GHz

Gateway Earth station

and network control

Mobile switching
Office
User Terminals
on the earth

PSTN
PSTN

Fig : Mobile to Fixed duplex link - L-band to communicate with mobile subscriber.
- Ku band feeder link to the Gateway Earth Station.
 GMPCS Link Issues

• Personal User terminal:

– Low EIRP
• System to support large number of users

• Solution tried
– Multi-beam satellites
– LEO to reduce Spread Loss coverage

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Parameter/Orbit GEO MEO LEO

Altitude (Km.) 35,800 Around 10,000 500-2000

Space Loss High Moderate Low

No. of satellites 3 10-20 30-60

required

One-way 260 100 10-40

Propagation
Delay (ms), approx.
Life (Years) 10-15 8-10 6-8

Cost per satellite High Moderate Low

Cost per Launch High Moderate Low

Eclipse Interval Infrequent Infrequent Frequent day & night cycling

Handoffs No Infrequent Frequent (Major issue)

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 Low Earth Orbit

• LEO systems fly about 1,000 Kms above the earth and
unlike GEOs, travel across the sky.
• LEO systems take less than two hours to orbit the
Earth
• It means that a single satellite is “in view” of ground
equipment for only a few minutes.
• LEO systems are designed to carry voice traffic as well
as data. ‘Satellite Phones’ and “ Global Mobile
Personal Communications System”(GMPCS) services
use these type of orbits.
• Examples of LEO systems:-
 Iridium
 Globalstar
 Pros and Cons of LEO Systems
 Advantages:
• The transmission delay associated with LEO systems is the
lowest of all the systems.
• Because of small size of satellites, the smaller size of ground
segment is required. LEO systems are expected to cost less
to implement than other systems

 Dis-advantage:
• The small coverage area of a LEO satellite requires
coordination with flight path & frequent handoffs.
• LEO systems have a shorter life span than other systems
due to gravitational pull of the Earth.
 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

• MEO systems operate at about 10,000 Kms

above the Earth.
• MEO orbit is a compromise between the LEO
and GEO orbits. MEO systems require fewer
satellites to provide coverage than LEO.
• Examples:
 ICO Global Communication
 Telestar
 Pros & Cons of MEO Systems
 Advantage:
• MEO systems require fewer satellites than LEOs.
• MEO systems are designed for larger capacity than
LEO systems.

 Dis-advantage:
• MEO satellites, like LEOs have a much shorter life than
GEOs.
• MEO systems, as well as some big LEOs targeted at the
voice communications may have a disadvantage
compared with cellular and other terrestrial wireless
networks.
 GEO vs. LEO vs. MEO
 Most communications satellites in use today for
commercial purposes are placed in Geo-stationary
orbit, because of the following advantages:-
• One satellite can cover almost 1/3 of earth surface.
• Communications require the use of fixed antennas.
Since geosynchronous satellites remain stationary
over the same orbital position, users can point their
satellite dishes in the right direction, making
communications most reliable and secure.
• GEO satellites are proven, reliable and secure with a
life span of 10-15 years.
 Some of the available systems

• Global
– INMARSAT (GEO)
– Iridium (LEO)
– Globalstar (LEO)
• Regional
– Thuraya
– ACeS

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 Thuraya

Launched in October, 2000

Services: Voice, fax, SMS, data

Single 12m antenna

13750 channels in
L band

220gm
GSM compatible

GMPCS 15
 Thuraya Features

Thuraya facilitates its customers by providing the following:

 100% connectivity within the coverage area;
 Single Universal Number;
 Roaming in around 160 GSM networks (more are under
process);
 Affordable Call rates;
 Provision of value added services
 Customized solutions for different environments units, etc;
 Thuraya –
Effective & Flexible Mobile
Communications

 Thuraya complements Terrestrial Cellular Mobile

Telephony by extending the reach of communication links
to areas that does not have existing telecom infrastructure
including remote and hilly areas, deserts, maritime etc;
 Thuraya provides the additional flexibility in movement of
the users in a vast geographic region irrespective of GSM
coverage
 INMARSAT

• INMARSAT stand for International

Marine/Maritime Satellite.
• A British satellite company.
• Offers most comprehensive range of
mobile services - Voice and data- to

• Services
 
users worldwide for use on land, at
sea or in air.                                       

                             
BGAN
GMPCS for
B
CNN
– Land Mobile:
• BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) ,
IsatPhone Pro.
– Maritime:
• FleetPhone.
– Aeronautical
• Swift 64 (64 Kbps) 18
 INMARSAT- Coverage
There are 3 types of coverage related to
each Inmarsat satellites –
• Global beam coverage : Each satellite is equipped

 
with a single global beam that covers up to one-
third of the Earth's surface, apart from the poles.
                                      

Overall, global beam coverage extends from

                             

latitudes of −82 to +82 degrees regardless of

longitude.

GMPCS
 INMARSAT- Coverage
• Regional spot beam coverage : Each regional beam
covers a fraction of the area covered by a global
beam, but collectively all of the regional beams
offer virtually the same coverage as the global
beams. Use of regional beams allow user terminals
to operate with significantly smaller antennas.
Regional beams were introduced with the I-3
satellites. Each I-3 satellite provides four to six
spot beams; each I-4 satellite provides 19 regional
beams.
 INMARSAT- Coverage
• Narrow spot beam coverage : Narrow beams are offered
by the three Inmarsat-4 satellites. Narrow beams vary in
size, tend to be several hundred kilometers across. The
narrow beams, whilst much smaller than the global or
regional beams, are far more numerous and hence offer
the same global coverage. Narrow spot beams allow yet
smaller antennas and much higher data rates. They form
the backbone of Inmarsat's handheld and broadband
services (BGAN). This coverage was introduced with the
I-4 satellites. Each I-4 satellite provides around 200
narrow spot beams.
 INMARSAT-4 (I-4) F1
• Launched on 11.3.2005
• 5959 Kg
• User link L-band
• Feeder link C-band

 
• Coverage
– 1 Global, 19 wide spot,
200 narrow spot in L-
                                      

band                              

• Terminals: 70-432 Kbps

IP enabled

GMPCS 22
 INMARSAT- (I-5) Global
Xpress
• August, 2010, Boeing is contracted to build new
satellite constellation - Global Xpress.
• First global I-5 F1 launched in 2013 and I-5 F2
launched in 2015.
• Once fully operational It will be capable of delivering mobile

 
broadband speeds up-to 50 Mbps

                                      

                             

GMPCS 23
 ACeS - Geomobile System
- ACeS (Asia Cellular Satellite)
Is a regional sat company
Hq at Jakarta(Indonesia)

• Two L band 12m antennas

• 3m C band antenna to
communicate with Gateways
• Direct calls
– handset to handset
– Handset to PSTN
– Handset to GSM

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 IRIDIUM – LEO Mobile System
• 66 satellites
• Orbit: 780 Km
• Serving maritime, aviation,
mining, oil & gas, forestry,
emergency, transportation
and utilities industries etc.
• Iridium NEXT to be
launched in 2015

GMPCS 25
 REFERENCES :-

1. A. C. Clarke, “Extra-terrestrial Relays”, Wireless World,

pp 305-308, 1945.

2. Timothy Pratt, Charles Bostian, Jeremy Allnutt, “Satellite

Communications”, John Wiley & Sons, 2003.

3. Dennis Roddy, “Satellite Communications”, Mc Graw–Hill, 2001.

4. Bruce R. Elbert, “Satellite Communication Applications

Handbook”, Artech House.
Thank
You!