A modified CDMA/PRMA medium access control protocol for integrated services in LEO satellite systems

Abstract

The goal of this paper is the design of a multiservice MAC (Medium Access Control) layer able to use efficiently the radio channel within a LEO (Low Earth Orbit) constellation. After presenting the context of the problem, a set of capabilities within MAC layer, which provide communications able to support various applications such as video, data and voice, are defined. A new MAC protocol, based on the CDMA/PRMA one, is proposed in the context of LEO systems. Compared with the initial CDMA/PRMA protocol, the proposed modifications do significantly increase the efficiency of MAC layer in LEO context. A CAC (Connection Admission Control) function is introduced, and several control users traffic methods are presented and studied by simulation.