Demand for Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) is on the increase, with a huge surge of interest in mobile communications in recent years and high-paced advancements in the supporting system architectures, devices and applications. This thoroughly revised and updated book provides a comprehensive guide to the MSS technologies and emerging trends. It takes a system level approach, giving in-depth treatment of technical and business related issues. The author, a leading professional in the area, draws on his extensive experience in industry and research, to provide the reader with a sound and informed understanding of the technology. Mobile Satellite Communications includes introductory material for the reader new to the field, in addition to exploring prevalent system concepts, architecture, practices and trends for the more experienced. An in-depth review of scientific principles merged with business models and regulatory considerations presents a balanced perspective of commercial mobile satellite systems. This book will be of interest to practicing engineers in mobile satellite communications and mobile broadcasting, research and development professionals working in these areas, mobile satellite service providers and operators. Academics and students studying satellite systems/technology, specialists in other classes of satellite systems, technical and marketing managers, strategists and planners of telecommunication systems: individuals interested in mobile communications, satellite and telecommunications/broadcasting technology will also find this book insightful. Key Features: Comprehensive treatment of mobile satellite communications topics, including radio link aspects, satellite constellations, architectural and operational aspects, as well as business planning models, MSS radio interface standards, spectrum forecast methodologies and system examples. Addresses related themes such as mobile broadcasting, mobile VSATs, search and rescue, and navigation systems. Introduces emerging technologies such as mobile broadband, television broadcasting to handheld units, advanced capacity enhancement techniques, hybrid system architecture concepts, including a rich sample of research topics such as multiple input multiple output, satellite-based ad-hoc networks, and highlights initiatives in the use of Q/V frequency bands. Includes revision questions at the end of each chapter. An accompanying website for interaction (www.satellitesandyou.com).

This book of Proceedings contains papers of the "Third European Workshop on Mobile/Personal Satcoms" (EMPS '98), held in Venice, Italy, November 1998. For the third time, EMPS has given to the experts an opportunity for exchanging opinions and novel ideas in the exciting field of mobile and personal satellite communications. As with the 1996 edition, EMPS '98 issued a formal call for papers, gathering a large number of contributions from many different countries. Each submitted paper has been reviewed by international referees and, finally, selected by the Workshop Steering Committee (WSC). Furthermore, key-topics in the field of mobile/personal satcoms have also been focused on through a few invited papers. As EMPS has been conceived to gather trends and novelties in the field of mobile/personal satcoms, it is tightly matched to the natural evolution of the field itself. In this frame, the reader will notice how the dominant topics are related to system and network issues, while a very little number of contributions have been provided in the propagation and channel related areas. This represents a natural trend of a field, where deep efforts have been paid in the past years to understanding and modelling the physical layer and where the present interest is mostly migrating to the applications. Further changes and novelties may be envisaged in the future of this field. I believe that EMPS will continue to represent an effective opportunity to catch and understand more deeply this evolution.

A scientific overview of current and future satellite systems for mobile and broadband communications. In part I, the fundamentals of geostationary and non-geostationary satellite constellations and the related questions of communications technology are treated. Part II deals with satellite systems for mobile communications and treats several network features as well as their technology, regulation and financing. Part III is devoted to future satellite systems for broadband communications and explains the specialities of satellite communications, particularly on the basis of ATM and TCP/IP. An extensive survey on operating and planned satellite systems completes the book.