Stochastic Geometry-based Analysis of LEO Satellite Communication Systems

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the coverage performance of LEO satellite systems using stochastic geometry, comparing their effectiveness to fiber-based coverage in rural areas, and provides insights on system parameters for optimal coverage.

Contribution

It introduces a stochastic geometry framework to evaluate LEO satellite coverage, considering multiple altitudes and satellite distributions, and compares it with terrestrial fiber coverage.

Findings

LEO satellite systems improve coverage probability in rural areas.

Optimal satellite density and altitude depend on system performance goals.

LEO systems can outperform fiber-connected base stations under certain conditions.

Abstract

This letter studies the performance of a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system where the locations of the LEO satellites are modeled as a binomial point process (BPP) on a spherical surface. In particular, we study the user coverage probability for a scenario where satellite gateways (GWs) are deployed on the ground to act as a relay between the users and the LEO satellites. We use tools from stochastic geometry to derive the coverage probability for the described setup assuming that LEO satellites are placed at n different altitudes, given that the number of satellites at each altitude ak is Nk for all k. To resemble practical scenarios where satellite communication can play an important role in coverage enhancement, we compare the performance of the considered setup with a scenario where the users are solely covered by a fiber-connected base station (referred to as anchored base station or ABS in the rest of the paper) at a relatively far distance, which is a common challenge in rural and remote areas. Using numerical results, we show the performance gain, in terms of coverage probability, at rural and remote areas when LEO satellite communication systems are adopted. Finally, we draw multiple system-level insights regarding the density of GWs required to outperform the ABS, as well as the number of LEO satellites and their altitudes.