Diversity reception for advanced multi-satellite networks: A CDMA approach

Diversity reception for Synchronous CDMA (S-CDMA) is introduced and analyzed. A Gaussian co-channel synchronous and asynchronous interference approximation is derived to evaluate the effects on the system bit error rate. Numerical results are provided for a simple mobile communication system where the signals transmitted by two distinct satellites in visibility are coherently combined by a three fingers Rake receiver. A second example showing performance of an integrated ground/satellite single frequency network for digital audio broadcasting is presented. Results show the capacity advantage of utilizing S-CDMA in combination with diversity reception.