MF-TDMA Scheduling Algorithm for Multi-Spot Beam Satellite Systems Based on Co-Channel Interference Evaluation

TLDR: Two novel interference-aware scheduling algorithms for a DVB-RCS2 return uplink are presented and designed on the basis to be executed in real time on a fixed SuperFrame period basis.

Abstract: Very high throughput satellites (VHTS) are the new trend in satellite communications systems in order to satisfy the increasing demand for both higher throughput and ubiquitous connectivity. Implementing an IP interactive network over a VHTS would enable the satellite to compete with terrestrial networks by offering ubiquitous added value services for end-user traffic. Even so, the simulations presented in this paper show that a 30% of throughput can be lost due to co-channel interferences. In existing interactive satellite networks such as REDSAT or AmerHis, the return uplink transmissions are inherently benefited from the MF-TDMA scheduling to mitigate the co-channel interferences present in VHTS. In such networks dynamic resource assignation (DAMA) is executed at each SuperFrame period (<100 ms). Therefore, any feasible optimization on the scheduling shall be performed in real time. In this paper, two parallel problems are faced at the same time: co-channel interference mitigation and real time scheduling. In particular, two novel interference-aware scheduling algorithms for a DVB-RCS2 return uplink are presented. Despite other previous works, the proposed algorithms are designed on the basis to be executed in real time on a fixed SuperFrame period basis. The performance assessment of the proposed algorithms is carried out through system-level simulations based on realistic satellite scenarios and interactive traffic models using DAMA in real time.