Estimation of Rain Attenuation at EHF bands for Earth-to-Satellite Links in Bangladesh

TL;DR

This paper predicts rain attenuation effects on EHF bands (Q and V) for Earth-to-Satellite links in Bangladesh, highlighting significant attenuation challenges and potential mitigation strategies based on local rain statistics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed prediction of rain attenuation at Q and V bands in Bangladesh using ITU models and local rain data, addressing a critical gap for satellite communication planning.

Findings

Rain attenuation can reach up to 150 dB in Q/V bands.

Attenuation varies seasonally from 40 dB to 170 dB.

High rain fade requires significant compensation strategies.

Abstract

Due to heavy congestion in lower frequency bands, engineers are looking for new frequency bands to support new services that require higher data rates, which in turn needs broader bandwidths. To meet this requirement, extremely high frequency (EHF), particularly Q (36 to 46 GHz) and V (46 to 56 GHz) bands, is the best viable solution because of its complete availability. The most serious challenge the EHF band poses is the attenuation caused by rain. This paper investigates the effect of the rain on Q and V bands' performances in Bangladeshi climatic conditions. The rain attenuations of the two bands are predicted for the four main regions of Bangladesh using ITU rain attenuation model. The measured rain statistics is used for this prediction. It is observed that the attenuation due to rain in the Q/V band reaches up to 150 dB which is much higher than that of the currently used Ka band. The variability of the rain attenuation is also investigated over different sessions of Bangladesh. The attenuation varies from 40 dB to 170 dB depending on the months. Finally, the amount of rain fade required to compensate the high rain attenuation is also predicted for different elevation angles.