Receive antenna impact on spatio-temporal availability in satellite-to-indoor broadcasting

This contribution studies spatio-temporal availability in satellite-to-indoor broadcasting. The performance of both theoretical and measured single and multiple antenna receivers with various polarimetric radiation patterns is compared for different satellite elevation angles. The spatio-temporal satellite to indoor channels are obtained via a 3D ray tracing engine and a geometry-based channel modeling tool. Moreover, the influence of coupling effects between closely spaced antennas on the availability is studied. Under the assumption of a line-of-sight (LOS) connection between the satellite and the wall where the possible window is placed, the indoor performance with and without windows is compared. The results show quantitatively that additional antennas placed at the receiver reduce both the spatial and the temporal variability of the received power, significantly reducing the transmit power required for the same target availability. The antenna coupling effects increase the required link margin.