Satellite Gateway Segmentation for Infrastructure Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing use of higher frequency bands in Very High Throughput Satellite systems leads to significant infrastructure and maintenance costs due to the need for site diversity strategies, which result in the multiplication of locations and infrastructure, especially when weather conditions degrade, requiring rerouting of traffic between gateways.
Innovation Solution
Locating hubs (baseband parts) at a collection point (PoP) and retaining only the RF part at gateways, with a data transmission system that includes a baseband part and a radio frequency part, utilizing an NCR network clock reference module for synchronization and clock reconstruction, and employing the CPRI protocol for data transmission between the backbone and frontend parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If site diversity strategy is implemented to handle weather conditions, then signal transmission reliability is improved, but infrastructure size and cost increase due to multiplication of gateway locations
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway is segmented into two functional parts: the RF (Radio Frequency) part that handles signal transmission and the Hub (baseband processing) that handles data processing. By separating these functions and locating the Hub at a centralized PoP while keeping RF parts at distributed gateways, the system achieves site diversity for reliability without multiplying full gateway infrastructure at each location.
Solution Approach 2:
The PoP (Point of Presence) acts as an intermediary that centralizes the Hub functionality for multiple RF gateways. This intermediary structure allows the system to maintain multiple gateway locations for reliability while sharing the expensive Hub infrastructure, thereby reducing overall infrastructure cost and complexity.
2Productivity
If hub and RF module are co-located in gateway, then signal processing efficiency is improved, but gateway size increases requiring larger infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway functionality is segmented into RF module (kept at gateway location) and Hub (relocated to PoP). This segmentation allows the gateway to be downsized to only contain the essential RF module, while the Hub is shared across multiple gateways through the PoP infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The Hub at the PoP serves multiple RF gateways simultaneously, providing universal baseband processing capability. This multi-functional Hub can service many RF modules across different gateway locations, eliminating the need for each gateway to have its own dedicated Hub and thereby reducing overall infrastructure size.
3Reliability
If traffic rerouting between gateways is implemented for site diversity, then transmission reliability is improved, but data transmission complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The PoP acts as a central intermediary that simplifies traffic rerouting for site diversity. Since all RF gateways connect to the centralized Hub at the PoP, switching between gateways becomes a simple reconfiguration at the PoP level rather than complex end-to-end rerouting, thereby maintaining reliability while minimizing transmission time and complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A data transmission system in a communication network characterized in that it comprises a data modulator including: • A first part (30BE) at the collection point level comprising: • an NCR module (303) taking into account an external absolute time reference to reconstruct a network clock, • a transmitter module (304) receiving the value of a time reference to be inserted into the data packet to be transmitted and transmitting information about a synchronization time to the receiver towards the NCR module, • A second part (30FE) at the radio frequency level of a gateway comprising: • a receiver module (310), • a module for reconstructing a local clock (311), • a module for inserting a time reference into a data packet received by the receiver before data transmission via the satellite, • The first part (30BE) and the second part (30FE) exchange encapsulated data.