An Effective Approach to Instantaneous Rain Attenuation Frequency Scaling Using Single or Multiple Satellite-Based Measurements

Abstract

A novel frequency scaling (FS) methodology, termed effective instantaneous frequency scaling (EIFS), is proposed for the real-time prediction of rain attenuation affecting Earth-space communication links. This approach enables the estimation of rain attenuation at a target frequency by scaling concurrent measurements taken along the same path at one or more lower frequencies. Propagation data from three beacon frequencies-18.7, 39.6, and 49.5 GHz-collected at the Spino d’Adda ground station during the 19951996 ITALSAT experimental campaign, were used to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed model. The results demonstrate excellent prediction accuracy, both statistically (root mean square (rms) of the percentage error approximately equal to 13%) and in terms of time series (rms of the absolute error lower than 1 dB), making EIFS well-suited for the design and operation of adaptive propagation impairment mitigation techniques (PIMTs). Moreover, the application of EIFS with concurrent data from two frequencies provides highly accurate estimates of point rain rate time series, indicating its potential use for remote sensing applications as well.