VSAT

TECHNOLOGY

18/11/202
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CONTENTS
Communication
 Wireless Communication
Satellite communication
VSAT
 Introduction
 Advantages
 Applications
 Network Architecture
 Multiple Access Techniques
3
Types of Communication

C O M M U N I C A T I ON

CA B L E COM M U N ICA T ION W I R E L E S S C O M M U N I C A T I ON

Communication is reliable transmission of information over a channel.

Here we shall concentrate only on wireless communication.

4 Wireless Communication
People need to be online all the time and therefore have no
use of physical connectivity.
It is of two types:-
1. Microwave Communication
2. Satellite Communication

Since the microwaves travel in straight lines, if the

towers are too far away then the earth gets in the way.
For communicating at a far of distance high towers are
needed which may be very expensive. Bands above 8GHz
are absorbed by water. Due to all these reasons satellite
communication is preferred.
5 SATELLITE SYSTEM
A satellite system consists basically of a satellite in space
which links many earth stations to the ground. It contains
several transponders each of which listens to some
portion of the spectrum, amplifies the incoming signal and
then rebroadcasts it at some other frequency to avoid
interference with the incoming signal.
 TYPES OF SATELLITES
6 According to orbit position satellites are of mainly three types:
LEO(Low Earth Orbit satellite )
MEO(Medium Earth Orbit satellite )
GEO(Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit satellite )
 SATELLITE FREQUENCY
UP-LINK DOWN-LINK
BANDS
BAND ISSUES
7
(GHz) (GHz)

Interference with
C 5.925-6.425 3.7-4.2 ground links, Large
antenna size.

Ex-C
Weak signals, Large
6.725-7.025 4.500-4.800
antenna size.

Ku 14.0-14.5 11.7-12.2 Attenuation due to

rain.

Ka 27.5-30.5 17.7-21.7 High equipment cost.

VSAT network mainly use GEO satellites in Ku and

Extended-C band for their application purposes.
VSAT transceivers integrate all necessary functions into a
small, highly integrated out-door package which provides
excellent reliability in a wide range of environments and
functions.
 Introduction To VSAT
8

A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a device known as

a small private earth station - that is used to transmit &
receive data signal through a satellite.
VSAT stands for Very Small Aperture Terminal and refers to
receive/transmit terminals installed at dispersed sites
connecting to a central hub via satellite using small
diameter antenna dishes (0.6 to 3.8 meter).
VSAT is used for both broadcast & interactive applications of
effective data, voice and video transfer.
 VSAT INSTALLATION
9
Information is produced at the hub having a very large 15 to
36 foot antenna. The hub controls and monitors the network
through a network management system (NMS). Information
is sent up to the communication satellite which receives,
amplifies and beams it back to earth for reception by the
remote VSATs.
10
Why VSAT?
The dish is small, easily transportable and installation
lead-time is much shorter if compared to terrestrial
links.

VSAT network allows rapid, low-cost network re-

configuration and expansion to meet new or unexpected
business requirements.

Cost effective transmission and network operations are

made possible by use of the Ex-C band satellite
frequency and frequency times division multiple access
(FTDMA), Frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or
Time division multiple access (TDMA) transmission
techniques.
 ADVANTAGES
11
There are many advantages that VSAT offers, some of them
are as follows:

Offer flexibility as adding a site is quick and easy.

Service charges depend on the bandwidth, which is
allocated to network in line with your requirements.
VSAT terminals prices are falling.
VSAT offers a wide of protocols and features, providing
extraordinary flexibility and virtually unlimited expansion
capabilities. VSAT network is typically engineered to achieve
a minimum of 99.5% end-to-end availability for all locations.
No last mile issues.
As it is mobile, so be used for short term or emergency
communications.
Excellent for broadcast transmission.
12 APPLICATIONS
VSAT is an ideal satellite network that provides
communications support for a wide range of
applications:

Distance Education
Retail Networks
• Point-of-Sale(PoS) transaction, banking, inventory,
reservation system.
Corporate Networks
• Internet/Intranet access, corporate voice, file transfer,
video-conferencing.
High-speed Internet access
• Browsing, E-mail, E-commerce .
Financial Management
 TYPICAL USAGE
13
 NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
14
VSAT network can be of following two types:

1. Hub type (VSAT StarNet with Star network topology)

2. Hubless type (VSAT DialNet and VSAT Direct with
point-to-point or meshed network topology)

Most VSAT networks use a star configuration, which

composes a single Hub communicating with remote
VSATs. A VSAT Hub is a huge earth station that is
responsible for controlling & monitoring all the activities
of the geographical spread of VSATs. In some cases all the
remote VSATs communicate to one central site, this
central site is connected to the hub, as hub is the
switching element. This service supports transmission
bandwidth ranging from 9.6 kbps to 2 Mbps duplex.
 VSAT HUB NETWORK
15

Ref:[4]
 MULTIPLE ACCESS
16
TECHNIQUES
1. SCPC (Single Channel Per Carrier)
(i) PAMA
(ii) DAMA
2. TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)

PAMA
(Pre Assigned Multiple Access)

PAMA is an access scheme where in when two VSATs want to

communicate with each other a bandwidth is pre-assigned to
them exclusively. This assigned bandwidth will be available
to the VSAT's on a permanently basis.
 DAMA
17
(Demand Assigned Multiple Access)

This scheme is very similar to a telephone connection. The

role of the telephone exchange is to connect you to the desired
number. Remotes request a time slot or a frequency to
transmit their traffic. The Hub plays the role of a telephone
exchange, between any two VSAT's.
NMS allocates each remote a time slot or a frequency to
transmit this traffic.
The attributed frequency or time slot will not be released
until the end of the transmission. The hub plays the role of a
telephone exchange, between any two VSAT's.
The DAMA service addresses point to point voice, fax, and
data communication requirements of remote sites.
 DAMA
18
 TDMA
19
(Time Division Multiple Access)

In TDMA a number of earth stations take turns(slots) for

transmitting through a common transponder. TDMA
network operates in a Star topology.
All the remote VSATs communicate to the central hub
station, on a Time Division Multiple Access Modes. At
the hub the signal is re-transmitted to the destination
VSAT using TDM technology after amplification.
All the remote VSAT's contend for a time divisional slot
to transmit their packets to the hub.
The channel used by the remotes to communicate to
the hub is called the Return Link. Each of these return
channels operates at a maximum of 128 Kbps.
20
VSAT
[Very Small Aperture Antenna]

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21
What is VSAT?
VSAT stands for Very Small Aperture Terminal. It is a
small satellite dish that is capable of both receiving and
sending satellite signals. VSAT systems can be designed
to serve both broadcast and interactive applications
whether data, voice or video, which are now being
served by terrestrial lines.

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22 Why VSAT?
• Early Earth Stations in commercial systems were very
large and expensive (30 m).

• Need to make system more affordable to end user:

• Increased transmit power from satellite.
• Higher frequencies

• Result: Smaller ES antenna size required 11/18/2024

23
 The dish is small, easily transportable and
installation lead-time is much shorter if compared
to terrestrial links. In addition, VSAT network
allows rapid, low-cost network re-configuration
and expansion to meet new or unexpected business
requirements.
 VSAT - 75 cm to
1.2 m.
 Data rates - 4 kbit/s up to 4
Mbit/s sometimes up to a max
downlink of up to 16 Mbit/s with some upgraded
modules and enhancements.
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24

 Cost effective transmission and network operations

are made possible by use of the C-band satellite
frequency and frequency times division multiple
access (FTDMA), Frequency division multiple
access (FDMA) or Time division multiple access
(TDMA) transmission techniques.

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25

 VSAT offers a wide of protocols and features,

providing extraordinary flexibility and virtually
unlimited expansion capabilities. In addition,
VSAT network is typically engineered to achieve a
minimum of 99.7% end-to-end availability for all
locations

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26
VSAT SYSTEMS
 Underlying objective of VSAT Systems:
bring the service directly to the end-user
 Major reasons for doing this
 Reduce hierarchical distribution network (make
more efficient and faster)
 Reduce distribution costs

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27

Fig. 2.5 in: INTELSAT VSAT Handbook, September 1998. Available from Application
Support and Training, INTELSAT, 3400 International Drive, NW, Washington, DC 11/18/2024
20008-3098, USA
28

 Implementations of
VSAT

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29
Implementation

 There are several ways VSAT services might be

implemented
 One-Way (e.g. TV Broadcasting satellites)
 Split-Two-Way (Split IP) Implementation (return link
from user is not via the satellite; e.g. DirecTV)
 Two-Way Implementation (up- and down-link)

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30
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
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31 VSAT IMPLEMENTATION

Higher Propagation delay Lower Propagation delay (250 ms)

Used by TDMA VSATs Used by PAMA/DAMA VSATs
Lower central hub investment
High central hub investment
larger VSAT antenna sizes (3.8 m typically)
Smaller VSAT antenna sizes (1.8 m typically) Higher VSAT costs
Lower VSAT costs Suited for high data traffic
Ideally suited for interactive Telephony applications and point-to-point
data applications high-speed links
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Large organizations, like banks, with
centralized data processing requirements
32
VSAT Network Topologies

 Star network:
The VSAT terminals communicate each other through Hub.

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33
VSAT STAR ARCHITECTURE

All communications to and

from each VSAT is via the
Master Control Station or
Hub

Master Control Station

(The Hub)
VSAT
Community
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Picture copyrights on introductory slides. Reproduction with permission only.

34 VSAT Earth Station

 Outdoor Unit (ODU)

 Inter-facility link (IFL)
 Indoor Unit (IDU)
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Source: www.bhartibt.com
35
VSAT Earth Station
• The VSAT Outdoor Unit (ODU) is located where it will have a clear line
of sight to the satellite and is free from casual blockage by people and/or
equipment moving in front of it. It includes the Radio Frequency Trasceiver
(RFT).

• The Inter Facility Link (IFL) carries the electronic signal between the
ODU and the Indoor Unit (IDU) as well as power cables for the ODU and
control signals from the IDU.

• The IDU is normally housed in a desktop computer at the User’s

workstation and consists of the baseband processor units and interface
equipment (e.g. computer screen and keyboard). The IDU will also house
the modem and multiplexer/demultilexer (mux/demux) units if these are11/18/2024

not already housed in the ODU.

 Typical VSAT Outdoor
36 Unit/Antenna
Reflector

Feed-Assembly
LNB-F (Optional)
LNB-F (Optional)

LNB
LNB

SSPA (HPC)

(Front) (Rear) 11/18/2024

 VSAT Earth Station - Block
37
Diagram
Antenn
Feed a

LNC DEM Base To

IFL Data
Band
Processo Terminal
HPC MO
r Equipme
D (BBP)
RFT nt

Outdoor Unit Indoor Unit (IDU)

(ODU)

IDU

RFT

IFL

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38
VSAT for Internet

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 VSAT Network
39

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40
From TV station to home

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41 What are the applications of
VSAT?
VSAT is an ideal satellite network that provides
communications support for a wide range of applications: -
Point-of-sales transaction
- Order-Entry Billing
- Inventory Control
- Financial Management
- Data processing
- Reservation System
- Telemetry & Data Collection
- News Wire Services
- Private-Line Voice
- Virtual Private Networks
- Distance Education
- High Speed Internet Access 11/18/2024
42
Who should subscribe to
VSAT?
VSAT presents new alternatives to the problems of
conventional fixed terrestrial telecommunication beyond
PSTN areas. VSAT can also help to design tailored
communication business to the following sectors: - Finance
and banking
- Government Agencies
- Manufacturing
- Mining and explorations
- News agency
- Shipping and freight handling·
- Travel and tourism 11/18/2024

- Agricultural companies
43
Advantages of VSAT
 Access in Remote Locations
 Internet Access
 Rapid deployment
 VPN
 Qos
 Mobile Access
 Bandwidth Allocation
 Scalable
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  Cost
44
 Standards based
 Reliable
 Back-up to Terrestrial Networks
 Inter-operation with Terrestrial Networks
 Single Hop
 Bandwidth on Demand
 Cost per connection is independent of the location/
distance
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45 Limitations of VSAT
Technology
 Like any other technology, VSAT has its limitations too.
Some of them include the extremely high initial
cost needed for building and launching satellites in the
Geo-Synchronous orbit, higher initial cost
and recurring monthly costs for terminal equipments
needed for providing Internet over broadband when
compared to terrestrial DSL networks, Bit Error Rate is
common for satellite based technologies, Rain
Attenuation might affect the performance of VSAT11/18/2024

communications under rainy conditions,

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 latencies (>200 ms) are still higher than their terrestrial equivalent
technologies (<100 ms),careful direction of subscriber side
terminals and dish antennas are critical for proper working,trained
man power is required for installation and maintenance,
other competitive technologies(Internet Leased Lines,
3G/HSDPA/4G Cellular technologies etc) offer much higher
bandwidth at a lower cost than what is possible by VSAT based
networks, the antennas need to be fixed outside the offices or
homes hence making them susceptible to damage or theft, the cost
of VSAT modules for Network Routers/ Video Conferencing
systems are quite high, etc
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47

 Thank you

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