Abstract

This article presents a comparison study of the uplink performance of two well-known transmission schemes, W-CDMA and OFDM, for mobile
multimedia communications via LEO satellites. In order to provide a framework for a fair comparison we have considered for both schemes
common parameters, including identical channel bandwidth, coding/decoding algorithms and similar net data rate. The values of these parame-
ters have been appropriately selected in accordance with the corresponding UMTS system specifications. For W-CDMA, we propose a receiver
structure that eliminates ISI for both channel estimation and equalization at the LEO satellite. For OFDM, we propose a system the design of
which is based upon the parameters of W-CDMA for UMTS. For both schemes appropriate transceiver structures are proposed and analyzed
and their performance is evaluated in terms of computer simulation. The design of these transceiver structures effectively takes into account the
statistical characteristics of the LEO satellite channel, so that the overall system performance is improved. The simulation results evaluating the
uplink BER performance for a single user indicate that, although the BER performance of W-CDMA is slightly better than that of OFDM, the
performance differences are rather small. Furthermore, these differences in performance become even smaller when channel coding is applied
and when LOS conditions between the mobile terminal and the LEO satellite exist. Since these results have not shown a clear-cut winner, further
comparative studies are required in order to identify the most appropriate transmission scheme for applications supporting global mobile
multimedia communication via LEO satellite networks. Such studies should include determination of the downlink BER performance as well as
spectrum efficiency and capacity performance evaluations for both up and down satellite communication links.

A Comparison Study of the

Uplink Performance of W-CDMA and
OFDM for Mobile Multimedia
Communications via LEO Satellites
A. Papathanassiou, A. K. Salkintzis, and P. T. Mathiopoulos,
National Observatory of Athens, Institute for Space
Applications and Remote Sensing

T he development of satellite
mobile multimedia systems is essentially mainly driven by two
factors: first, the need to establish a multimedia infra-
structure on a global scale, and second the need to extend
multimedia services to the mobile community (i.e., users trav-
eling all over the world by aircraft, ship, or land vehicle) [1].
Both these needs represent market requirements and reflect
the fact that users are willing to pay for effectively and effi-
ciently exploiting their time on the go and to benefit from
enhanced services in a global environment. In this context,
satellite-based mobile multimedia systems are foreseen to
play a significant role since they can naturally provide cost-
effective access to the global multimedia infrastructure in
areas where their terrestrial counterparts require high
deployment cost and, in general, inefficient utilization [1, 2].
By deploying satellite mobile multimedia networks in these
areas and integrating these networks with the terrestrial
mobile infrastructure, mobile multimedia services could be
offered seamlessly worldwide.
Consequently, satellite mobile multimedia networks are
envisioned as an integral and essential part of the global multi-
media infrastructure. For this reason, it is important to investi-
gate their characteristics and to engineer appropriate solutions
capable of providing multimedia services characterized by high
bit rates and calling for quality of service (QoS) provision. In
this context, a number of different satellite configurations could
be considered, including geostationary earth orbit (GEO),
medium earth orbit (MEO), and/or low earth orbit (LEO)
satellites. In this article we choose to focus our attention on
LEO satellite networks as potential and promising platforms
for providing satellite-based mobile multimedia services.
A typical LEO satellite network features a constellation of
satellites orbiting at low altitudes, ranging from 320 to 1600
km. The satellites move at a relatively high speed and are visi-
ble from a fixed ground point for only a limited period.
Therefore, to provide continuous service to a terrestrial user
for a prolonged period, several handovers between neighbor-
ing satellites may need to take place. When a handover is per-
formed, the handling of a user is handed from one LEO
satellite to another one. A simplified, but nevertheless typical,
LEO satellite network is depicted in Fig. 1. In this figure the
LEO satellite network serves effectively as an access network
to the global multimedia infrastructure. Each mobile terrestri-
al terminal registers with a particular LEO satellite and makes
use of the resources of this satellite. Typically, the traffic of
each mobile terminal traverses several neighboring satellites
before routed down to either the gateway to the global multi-
media infrastructure, or to another mobile terminal.

IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001 1070-9916/01/$10.00 © 2001 IEEE 35

 Intersatellite
link
LEO
satellite
Gateway
Global
multimedia
infrastructure
■ Figure 1. Configuration of a LEO satellite network providing mobile
multimedia services.
LEO satellites, while maintaining the important character-
istics of GEO satellites, such as wide coverage area and direct
radio path, feature a number of additional advantages essen-
tial to the provision of mobile multimedia services. These
advantages of LEO satellites, which originate from their lower
altitude compared to GEO satellites, include short propaga-
tion delay, low propagation loss, and a high elevation angle at
high latitudes [1, 2]. A direct consequence of these advantages
is that the tight delay requirements of multimedia applications
are more easily met. In addition, low-power handheld termi-
nals are less demanding and more cost-effective.
In a typical LEO satellite mobile multimedia network such
as the one illustrated in Fig. 1, each LEO satellite serves a
large number of mobile terminals: those terminals located
inside the satellite coverage area, which is termed the footprint
of the satellite. For this reason, a multiple access scheme
needs to be designed and to specify how the shared satellite
resources (mainly the uplink bandwidth) will be utilized by
mobile terminals located in the same footprint. Furthermore,
we consider two prominent multiple access schemes very like-
ly to be employed in conjunction with LEO satellite networks:
• Wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) [3, 4]
• Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
coupled with time-division multiple access
(OFDM/TDMA) [5–8]
It is natural to be interested in investigating
1 It is useful to make a clear distinction between a multi-
ple access scheme and a transmission scheme. The for-
mer deals with multiplexing many users in the same
bandwidth, the latter with transmission and reception
issues between two communicating entities. While in the-
ory the scope of each scheme is different, in practice
there are cases where there is a large impact between
them. For instance, in a system employing CDMA, the
transmission scheme must also be based on CDMA prin-
ciples. Hence, CDMA can be regarded as both a multiple
access scheme (when emphasis is given on multiplexing
many users by means of different spreading codes) and a
transmission scheme (when emphasis is given on spread-
ing/despreading the baseband signal). On the other
hand, OFDM is basically a transmission scheme and
can be coupled in a straightforward manner with TDMA
to form an OFDM/TDMA multiple access scheme. ■ Figure 2. The considered OFDM and W-CDMA transmission systems.
36
which of these two alternatives will provide overall
better performance in a LEO satellite network. In
general, a comparison, which must take into account
a vast number of performance metrics, such as flexi-
bility, robustness, complexity, power consumption,
bit error rate (BER), and bandwidth utilization effi-
ciency, is an extremely difficult task. To reduce the
complexity of the problem, in this article we have
adopted a simplified yet valuable approach based
solely on BER performance. First, we note that in a
satellite system using W-CDMA the mobile termi-
nals employ W-CDMA transmission, while in a
satellite system using OFDM/TDMA the mobile ter-
minals employ OFDM transmission. 1 Then our
approach is to investigate the uplink BER perfor-
mance that can be achieved with W-CDMA
transceivers and OFDM transceivers over a LEO
satellite channel. In other words, we concentrate on
a single mobile terminal transmitting toward a LEO
satellite by using either W-CDMA transmission or
OFDM transmission and evaluate the BER exhibit-
ed in each case. This is schematically depicted in
Fig. 2, where the transmitted OFDM and W-CDMA signal is
shown in both the time and frequency domain. By means of
the simple BER evaluation we effectively compare the W-
CDMA and OFDM transmission schemes in a LEO satellite
environment and, in addition, identify and discuss some
insights regarding the efficiency of the aforementioned multi-
ple access schemes.
To summarize our contributions, this article presents a
comparative system study and evaluates, by means of comput-
er simulation, the BER performance of W-CDMA and OFDM
operating in a LEO satellite environment. The demonstrated
results can provide the basis for comparing these two schemes
with respect to their uplink performance, that is, the BER
encountered when transmitting data in the uplink direction
(from a mobile to a LEO satellite). In order to provide a fair
comparison, the OFDM/TDMA scheme is designed having as
its basis the parameters of W-CDMA chosen for UMTS [4].
Moreover, the design of the OFDM/TDMA system, as well as
the receiver structure for both systems, explicitly take advan-
tage of the LEO satellite channel characteristics.
The rest of this article is structured as follows. After this
introduction, we provide a short overview of W-CDMA and
Velocity Velocity
Time
Time
Frequency Frequency
Bandwidth = B Bandwidth = B
OFDM transmission W-CDMA transmission
IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001
 Station 1 Station 2 Station 1 Station 2 Subcarrier 1
Station 1 Station 2 Station 1 Station 2 Subcarrier 2
Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 2 Subcarrier 3
Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 1 Sub-carrier 4

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 1 Subcarrier N – 1

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 1 Subcarrier N

Time Time Time Time

Slot k Slot k + 1 Slot k + 2 Slot k + 3
Time

(a)

Station 3 (code 3)
Station 2 (code 2)
Station 1 (code 1)
Station 1
Station 1

(b)

■ Figure 3. A schematic diagram of a) OFDM/TDMA; b) W-CDMA.

OFDM/TDMA multiple access techniques. The most impor-
tant characteristics of the LEO satellite communications chan-
nel are presented. The W-CDMA system is considered, where
a receiver structure is proposed which eliminates intersymbol
interference (ISI) for both channel estimation and equaliza-
tion. The design parameters as well as the system model of
the proposed OFDM/TDMA scheme are presented. Further-
more, some technical issues related to channel estimation and
equalization for OFDM are discussed. We will present and
discuss the simulation results for both systems, and summarize
the basic results and outline our conclusions.
Multiple Access with
W-CDMA and OFDM/TDMA
When designing a LEO satellite multimedia system, one of
the most challenging issues is the design of the multiple
access scheme [1]. This scheme provides the means for sever-
al terrestrial users to simultaneously access a single LEO
satellite. The aim is to maximize the number of users (i.e.,
the user capacity) that access a single satellite while main-
taining the quality of their individual communications above
a certain acceptable level. Over the last 30 years several mul-
tiple access schemes have been proposed and studied, each
tailored to satisfy the needs of a specific system and to pro-
vide optimum performance under certain conditions. In a
LEO satellite mobile multimedia system the multiple access
scheme should be capable of supporting the necessary fea-
tures that would facilitate the provision of multimedia ser-
vices. For instance, it should be capable of supporting
multirate transmission and dynamic resource allocation. In
addition, it should demonstrate high efficiency and conse-
quently high capacity. Moreover, it should be easily imple-
mented in an environment where satellites move at high
speed, frequent handovers take place, and power consump-
tion is a main concern [1, 2].
Two of the most prominent multiple access techniques that
have been used in terrestrial mobile multimedia systems with
great success are W-CDMA and OFDM/TDMA.
On one hand, W-CDMA is generally recognized as an
attractive multiple access scheme for multimedia applications
and features certain advantages like simultaneous support of
multirate services, beneficial exploitation of multipath propa-
gation, interference mitigation, and full frequency reuse [3, 4].
These features also make it an attractive multiple access
scheme for mobile multimedia communications based on
LEO satellites, especially if the satellite soft handoff and path
diversity possibilities are exploited. Furthermore, considering
that the terrestrial air interface of the Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) is based on W-CDMA
technology [4], the employment of W-CDMA over the satel-
lite air interface renders the use of CDMA a natural exten-
sion of the terrestrial air interface.

IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001 37

 On the other hand, OFDM/TDMA is based on OFDM
transmission and TDMA. OFDM technology is very attrac-
tive when targeting high-quality and high-flexibility mobile
multimedia communications over LEO satellite systems [5,
6]. This is mainly due to two things. First, OFDM features a
high degree of flexibility when it comes to user traffic; it
provides the means for accommodating multirate traffic,
which is essential to multimedia applications. Second, based
on the UMTS parameters for channel bandwidth, the prop-
erties of the LEO satellite channel can be advantageously
exploited to design a highly efficient OFDM system. As
explained later, such an OFDM system will be mainly char-
acterized by a small FFT size and guard intervals of short
duration, both being inherent features of an OFDM-based
system [7, 8].
Figure 3 illustrates the fundamental principles of the two
multiple access schemes under consideration. As shown in
Fig. 3a, in OFDM/TDMA the overall channel bandwidth is
divided into a number of subcarriers, each carrying an individ-
ual bitstream with a relatively small signaling rate [7, 8]. Note
that, in general, within a given time slot a mobile station may
use all or some of the allocated subcarriers; hence, the trans-
mission rate of each mobile station may dynamically vary from
slot to slot. This general situation actually represents the
orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)
technique [7]. Although this technique provides the means for
extended flexibility and multirate transmission, it should be
pointed out that it requires precise synchronization between
the mobile stations and thus calls for very high implementa-
tion complexity. For this reason, the simpler OFDM/TDMA
scheme is considered in this article, where each time slot is
dedicated to a single mobile terminal (e.g., slots k and k + 1
in Fig. 3a). The mobile terminal that makes use of a time slot
transmits a high-rate signal that is split into a number of low-
rate signals, each modulating a specific subcarrier. For more
information about the principles of OFDM the reader is
referred to [7, 8].
On the other hand, as illustrated in Fig. 3b, in W-
CDMA there is no need to utilize time slots as a means of
multiplexing the mobile terminals. In this case, when each
mobile terminal registers with a LEO satellite, it is
assigned a unique spreading code. This code virtually
serves as a digital signature and causes the user signal to
spread in a wide frequency band. This spreading has a
twofold effect: first, it makes it feasible to multiplex sever-
al users in the same time and frequency domain; second, it
facilitates the multipath diversity reception, which is a
form of reception where the individual multipaths arriving
at the receiver are constructively exploited [3, 4]. While all
registered mobile terminals can transmit simultaneously in
the same frequency and time space, the receiver at the
LEO satellite can distinguish the individual signals as long
as the spreading codes assigned to the mobile terminals
are mutually orthogonal and the mobile terminals are syn-
chronized. The synchronization is necessary for the spread-
ing codes to exhibit their mutual orthogonal properties. If
the mobile terminals are not synchronized, the orthogonal-
ity between the spreading codes is compromised and
uplink performance is severely degraded. At the LEO
satellite there can typically be a number of matched filters
(MFs), each matched to a specific spreading code. Ideally,
due to the orthogonality of the spreading codes, the output
of an MF matched to a specific spreading code will contain
the information transmitted by the user who makes use of
that spreading code and no contributions from the trans-
missions of the other users. For more information about
the principles of W-CDMA, see [3, 4].
38
LEO Satellite Channel
Statistical Characteristics
The LEO satellite communications channel exhibits both time
variance due to the motion of the LEO satellite and/or mobile
terminal, and frequency selectivity due to multipath propaga-
tion [9, 10]. Thus, the LEO satellite channel is characterized by
both Doppler spread and delay spread. It is assumed that the
total Doppler spread is composed of two components, the first
related to the motion of the satellite and the second to the
motion of the mobile terminal [9]. It is important to note that
when the mobile terminal is not moving all multipaths arriving
at the satellite will practically demonstrate the same Doppler
shift. This is due to the relatively high altitude of the satellite
and means that the first component of Doppler spread virtually
corresponds to a large Doppler shift. At carrier frequency of 2
GHz, this Doppler shift can be as high as 40 kHz. As explained
in [11], this large Doppler shift exhibits a well-behaved and
rather deterministic variation with time (which can be parame-
terized by the maximum elevation angle of the mobile terminal
to the LEO satellite); it can be partially estimated and compen-
sated for. On the other hand, if we assume the satellite is not
moving, the multipaths arriving at the satellite will demonstrate
unequal but relatively small Doppler shifts. This means that the
second Doppler spread component exhibits a relatively small
value and can be modeled in accordance to the typical tech-
niques employed in terrestrial mobile radio systems.
There are a selection of sounding campaigns and ray-trac-
ing results for the LEO satellite channel at frequencies
around 2 GHz [12] utilized by the satellite UMTS bands.
The important conclusion from these works is that the LEO
satellite channel is characterized by path losses much smaller
than the equivalent losses of GEO satellites, and by delay
spreads which typically range from 250 to 800 ns. This range
depends on whether there are line-of-sight (LOS) or non-
LOS (NLOS) conditions between the LEO satellite and the
mobile terminal as well as on the terrestrial propagation
environment. In statistical terms, when a LOS path exists,
the received signal amplitude is Ricean distributed, while in
the case of NLOS the received signal amplitude follows a
Rayleigh distribution [9, 10].
In this article the channel bandwidth B = 5 MHz chosen
for UMTS is adopted for both W-CDMA and OFDM. Since a
sample period of the received signal is approximately equal to
the inverse of the channel bandwidth B (i.e., 200 ns), and the
maximum delay spread of the LEO satellite channel ranges
from 250 to 800 ns, we conclude that we can model the
impulse response of the channel with a sequence of two to
five discrete-time complex-valued components or taps. This is
the most important effect of the measurement results for the
LEO satellite channel in the satellite UMTS bands, and con-
stitutes the basis for developing high-performance W-CDMA
receivers as well as an efficient OFDM transmission scheme.
The above mentioned sequence of discrete-time complex-
valued taps of a channel impulse response can be generally
expressed by the vector
h _1 _h2 … _hw]T = hr + jhi
_ = [h (1)
of length W. In Eq. 1 _hw, w = 1, 2, …, W, represents the com-
plex value of the wth tap, while hr is the vector with the real
part and hi the vector with the imaginary part of the channel
impulse response h_, respectively. In this article we assume
that variations of the received signal due to slow fading are
compensated for by power control. Furthermore, for the rea-
sons mentioned above, the large Doppler shift due to the
motion of the LEO satellite is assumed to be eliminated.
IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001
 Data spreading code

Scrambling code
W-CDMA Data
source
Channel
encoder Interleaver BPSK
modulator
In this section the uplink of W-
CDMA [4] is analyzed for a single Control
user in the equivalent low-pass p/2
bits
domain. Figure 4a illustrates a
generic block diagram of the W- LEO
Control spreading code satellite
CDMA transceiver under considera- channel
tion. The data of a specific user,
after the application of channel cod- Channel estimation
ing and interleaving, is binary phase
shift keying (BPSK) modulated and
spread by one short CDMA code,
termed a data spreading code. In the Equalization
Data Channel
sink decoder Deinterleaver and
uplink of W-CDMA, control bits are demodulation
also transmitted, which are used for
channel estimation, power control, Descrambling code
and identification of the user data (a)
rate at the receiver. These control
bits are spread by a short CDMA
code, termed a control spreading code. Data Channel Subcarrier CP
Note that all the employed spreading Interleaver IFFT
source encoder modulator insertion
codes are orthogonal variable spread-
ing factor (OVSF) codes, which
means that they are mutually orthog- LEO
onal independent of their length [4]. satellite
channel
Afterward, the spread data is added
with the p/2-shifted spread control
Channel estimation
bits, and the combined signal is
scrambled by a user-specific long
scrambling code applied over the
whole duration of a frame transmis- Subcarrier CP
sion. The scrambled signal is trans- Deinterleaver Equalization FFT
demodulator removal
mitted through the LEO satellite
channel. At the LEO satellite receiv-
er, the received signal is first Channel Data
descrambled. Note that long scram- decoder sink
bling codes can also be used in W- (b)
CDMA for user separation at the
receiver, since their effect is to make ■ Figure 4. a) A block diagram of the W-CDMA transceiver; b) a block diagram of the
multiple access interference (MAI) OFDM transceiver.
appear as white noise when demodu-
lating the data of a certain CDMA
user. This effect of long scrambling codes justifies the fact that trol spreading code. Furthermore, let d express the data vec-
a single CDMA user is considered in our simulations without tor of length N1, where N1 is the number of BPSK modulated
explicitly implementing the scrambling/descrambling operation. symbols spread by c d, and u be the identity vector of length
After descrambling, channel estimation and equalization for a N2, where N2 is the number of pilot symbols used for the pur-
specific user is performed by using the data and control pose of channel estimation at the receiver [4]. Here, we
spreading codes of the corresponding user. Finally, the esti- assume that N1Q1 = N2Q2. However, in practice the duration
mated BPSK modulated symbols are deinterleaved and fed of the pilot symbols is shorter than that of the data symbols,
into the channel decoder, at the output of which the estimat- since data rate information and power control bits are addi-
ed user data is delivered. tionally contained in the control bits [4]. Although this realis-
In the remaining part of this section a mathematical repre- tic situation is considered in the simulations, it is not explicitly
sentation of the W-CDMA transceiver is presented along with treated during the theoretical analysis without loss of generali-
a new technique for channel estimation and equalization for ty. Let now cd denote a Toeplitz matrix exclusively determined
the W-CDMA uplink. This technique advantageously utilizes by its first row and column equal to
the characteristics of the LEO satellite channel combined with T
cd,r =[cd,1 0(1,N1,W–1)] and (2)
the appropriate choice of data and control spreading codes in
T ((N –1)Q ,1)T T
order to increase system performance, compared to the well- cd,c = [cd 0 1 1 ] , (3)
known RAKE receiver traditionally used in CDMA systems (1,N ,W-1)
respectively. In Eq. 2 0 1 is the zero row vector of
for channel equalization [3, 4]. Note that the analysis present-
length N1W – 1, and in Eq. 3 0((N1-1)Q1,1) is the zero column
ed below constitutes the basis for our simulation model. The
vector of length (N1 –1)Q1. Similarly, let cp denote a Toeplitz
results of the simulations are presented later.
matrix with its first row and column equal to
Let cd be the Q1-long vector expressing the data spreading
T
code, where Q1 is the spreading factor of the data spreading c p,r = [cp,1 0(1,W–1)] and (4)
code, and cp denote the Q2-long vector expressing the control
cp,c = u ƒ cd, (5)
spreading code, where Q2 is the spreading factor of the con-

IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001 39

respectively. In Eq. 4 0(1,W–1) is the zero row vector of length
W – 1, and in Eq. 5 ƒ denotes the Kronecker product [13].
Then, by using Eqs. 1–5, the received signal at the I-branch
and Q-branch (i.e., the real and imaginary parts of the
received signal) can be written as
eI =Cd (I(N1) ƒ hr) d – Cphi + nI and (6)
eQ = Cd(I(N1) ƒ hi) d + Cphr + nQ, (7)
respectively, where I (N 1 ) represents the N 1 ¥ N 1 identity
matrix, and nI and nQ express the influence of the remaining
MAI after the descrambling operation and the receiver addi-
tive white Gaussian noise (AWGN).
Our technique for channel estimation and equalization at
the LEO satellite receiver is based on Gauss-Markov estima-
tion [14] and, in contrast to the well-known RAKE receiver
[3,4], provides cancellation of cross-interference (CI) for
channel estimation and elimination of ISI for channel equal-
ization (see also [15] for a detailed analysis). Based on the
mathematical representations of Eqs. 6 and 7 of the received
signal, the estimation of the LEO satellite channel impulse
response vector h _ (Eq. 1), is performed by calculating
) x USE, n =
h = ( CTp C p )-1 CTp ( eQ - je I ), (8)
where Cp is defined in Eqs. 4 and 5. Also, channel equaliza-
tion is performed by calculating
) *T *T
d = ( CdT Cd )-1 CdT ( I ( N1 ) ƒ ( h h )-1 h ) ◊ ( e I + jeQ ), (9)
where Cd is defined in Eqs. 2 and 3. Our proposed equations
for channel estimation and equalization (i.e., Eqs. 8 and 9) are
generally applicable to W-CDMA uplink receivers. However,
they are tailored to exploit the delay spread characteristics of
the LEO satellite channel in order to increase the system per-
formance, as explained below. Since the length of the channel
impulse response vectors hr and hi is much shorter than both
N1Q1 (which expresses the length of the data spread signal) and
N2Q2 (which expresses the length of the control spread signal),
the matrices Cd and Cp appearing in Eqs. 6 and 7 have many
more rows than columns. Since Cd and Cp are exclusively deter-
mined by cd and cp, respectively, and the spreading factor Q2
for cp is fixed at 256 in W-CDMA, an exhaustive search is pos-
sible when a specific spreading factor Q2 is chosen for cd. The
goal of this search is to find the pair (cd, cp) that simultaneously
exhibits the lowest auto- and cross-correlation properties only
up to W shifts. During this search, W may be chosen to be fixed
and equal to four. In this way, the W-CDMA receiver design
explicitly takes advantage of the LEO satellite channel charac-
teristics and can provide increased uplink performance for both
channel estimation and equalization.
OFDM
In this section the system model and design parameters for
the proposed OFDM scheme are presented. In Fig. 4b a
generic block diagram of an OFDM transceiver is shown. As
mentioned earlier, in OFDM-based systems the total avail-
able channel bandwidth B is divided into a number of sub-
carriers N, each having a bandwidth B/N. The data of a
specific user, after the application of channel coding and
interleaving, is used to modulate the N subcarriers by using
quaternary PSK (QPSK). After the subcarrier modulation,
the transmit signal is produced by first applying inverse fast
Fourier transform (IFFT) to the modulated subcarriers and
extending the IFFT output by a precursor signal of NGI sam-
ples, which equals the last N GI samples of the IFFT output
40
and is termed cyclic prefix (CP). The resulting signal consti-
tutes an OFDM symbol and is transmitted through the LEO
satellite channel. At the LEO satellite receiver, the first NGI
samples of the received signal are discarded, an operation
denoted CP removal in Fig. 4b. Then FFT is applied to the
remaining signal, and channel equalization is performed at
the FFT output signal. Channel equalization uses the chan-
nel state information obtained by applying channel estima-
tion in a previously transmitted OFDM symbol known at the
receiver. Then data demodulation at each subcarrier takes
place, and the estimated bits are deinterleaved and fed into
the channel decoder, at the output of which the estimated
user data is delivered.
Similar to W-CDMA, in order to provide a simple mathe-
matical background of OFDM, which constitutes the basis for
our simulation model, a mathematical representation of
Xk, k = 1, 2, …, N denotes
OFDM is given in the following. If —
the modulated data symbol on the kth subcarrier, the samples
of the IFFT output — which is termed the useful part of the
OFDM symbol and expressed by the N-long vector XUSE —
are given by
N
 X k exp( j 2 pM( k )( n - 1) / N ), n = 1, 2 º, N , (10)
k =1
where M(k) denotes the mapping from the logical subcarrier k
into the frequency offset index from –N/2 to N/ 2 – 1. Note
that the time duration of each XUSE, n, is equal to 1/B. Fur-
thermore, let _x GI be an NGI-long vector expressing the guard
interval (GI) precursor signal of _x USE, which is used for ren-
dering the received subcarriers orthogonal during the last
samples of the received signal [7, 8]. Here, _xGI is chosen to be
equal to the last N GI elements of x_ USE and is denoted CP.
Under these assumptions, the transmitted OFDM symbol is
given by
T
È T T ˘
x = Í xGI x USE ˙ . (11)
Î ˚
Then the received signal at subcarrier k, k = 1, 2, …, N, after
CP removal is expressed in the frequency domain as [8]
E
_k = —
H k—
Xk + —
N k, (12)
where Nk represents the intercell MAI corrupting the received
signal of the kth subcarrier, and
W
Hk = Â hw exp(- j2 p(w - 1)k / N ), k = 1,2,º, N (13)
w =1
represents the frequency response of the channel impulse
response vector (Eq. 1) at subcarrier k. Equation 13 shows that
although the LEO satellite channel is frequency selective within
the whole bandwidth B, by appropriately choosing N it can be
made frequency nonselective at each subcarrier. The LEO
satellite channel is frequency nonselective at each subcarrier
when N is chosen so that the minimum coherence bandwidth,
which approximately equals the inverse of the maximum delay
spread, is at least 10 times higher than the bandwidth of a sin-
gle subcarrier k. For a LEO satellite channel at a carrier fre-
quency of 2 GHz, where the maximum delay spread is around
800 ns, the minimum coherence bandwidth approximately
equals 1.25 MHz. Therefore, if N is chosen equal to 64, the
bandwidth of a single subcarrier becomes 78.125 kHz and the
frequency nonselectivity of the subcarriers for the considered
OFDM system is guaranteed. Then the duration of the useful
part _xUSE (Eq. 11) equals 12.8 ms. Furthermore, with respect to
the characteristics of the LEO satellite channel, if _xGI is chosen
IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001
 10–1
Pb
10–2
Uncoded
10–3
Coded
10–4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
(Eb /N0)/dB
■ Figure 5. Uncoded and coded BER performance of W-CDMA
with Rayleigh fading (solid lines) and Ricean fading (dashed
lines).
to consist of NGI = 6 samples, Eq. 12 is valid since the duration
of the CP equals 1.2 ms, which is larger than the maximum
delay spread encountered in the considered LEO satellite com-
munications system [12]. Note that in this case the CP occupies
only 8.6 percent of the transmit signal _x; that is, highly efficient
data transmission is achieved [7, 8].
After establishing the design parameters of OFDM, we
show that channel estimation and equalization at the receiver
can be applied in a simple and cost-effective manner based on
Eq. 12: If a training sequence is transmitted (i.e., if — Xk, k = 1,
2, …, N in Eq. 12 are known at the receiver), channel estima-
tion in the frequency domain is performed by dividing the
received signal at each subcarrier k with — Xk. On the contrary,
if the channel impulse response at subcarrier k is known or
Hk in Eq. 13 is available), equalization is
estimated (i.e., if —
simply achieved by dividing the received signal at each subcar-
rier k with —
Hk. In this way, low-cost OFDM receivers for LEO
satellite communications systems can be developed.
Concerning the frame structure of the proposed OFDM
scheme, the design goal should be to accommodate services
ranging from voice to high multimedia applications. Accord-
ing to the UMTS bit rate requirements for such services [4],
the offered net data rate should range from 16 kb/s to 2
Mb/s. In our simulation the information bits are encoded by
a convolutional encoder with rate 1/2 and modulated on the
subcarriers using QPSK modulation. Furthermore, 75 per-
cent of the total number of subcarriers is used exactly as
proposed in [8], that is, 25 percent of the subcarriers at both
edges of the channel bandwidth are not used in order to ful-
fill the spectrum requirements set by UMTS [4]. Under
these assumptions, it can be verified that the maximum net
data rate is
Rmax = r 3.42 . 106 b/s, (14)
where (1 – r) denotes the ratio of the number of OFDM sym-
bols within the frame used for channel estimation and syn-
chronization purposes to the total number of OFDM symbols.
If 2 Mb/s should be the maximum offered data rate, r is cho-
sen equal to 0.4 (i.e., of every five transmitted OFDM symbols
two can be used for the purpose of channel estimation and
synchronization), which is a very useful result for serving high-
speed users. Then, if the minimum net data rate R min for
voice services is 16 kb/s, the number of OFDM symbols of a
frame equals
IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001
10–1
Pb
10–2
Uncoded
10–3
Coded
10–4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
(Eb /N0)/dB
■ Figure 6. Uncoded and coded BER performance of OFDM
with Rayleigh fading (solid lines) and Ricean fading (dashed
lines).
Nframe = ÎRmax/Rmin˚ = 128, (15)
which results in a frame duration of 1.792 ms, because an
OFDM symbol duration equals 14 ms according to the param-
eters selected above in this section.
Performance Evaluation Results,
Discussion, and Future Research
In this section simulation results for evaluating and comparing
the uplink BER performance of W-CDMA and OFDM
schemes are presented. As explained earlier, in order to
model the frequency selectivity and the time variance of the
LEO satellite channel in a realistic way, a channel model is
used which explicitly accounts for the channel characteristics
at 2 GHz, and is based on the statistical channel modeling
concept presented in [16, 17]. The envelope of the channel
impulse response according to this model at any time instant
has a Rayleigh probability distribution. This channel model is
appropriate for NLOS situations encountered in LEO satellite
communications systems [10, 12]. When an LOS situation
exists, a constant amplitude is added, which represents the
contribution of the LOS component. In this case, the enve-
lope of the channel impulse response follows a Rician proba-
bility distribution, and the Rician K-factor is chosen to lie in
the interval from 10 dB to 15 dB.
Concerning W-CDMA, the spreading factor Q 1 of the
data spreading code is chosen to be equal to 16. Then, since
the time frame T frame duration in W-CDMA is 10 ms, the
offered user net data rate is 120 kb/s. The spreading factor
Q2 of the control spreading code equals 256, and N2 equal to
six pilot symbols per time slot of duration 0.625 ms are used
for channel estimation. The total number of transmitted
frames equals 103, and the user velocity is 20 km/h. In order
to enable a fair comparison between W-CDMA and OFDM
with respect to the offered user net data rate, seven consecu-
tive OFDM symbols of each time frame are simulated, two of
which are used for channel estimation at the LEO satellite
receiver. Note that according to Eq. 14 these choices for
OFDM lead to a user net data rate approximately equal to
134 kb/s, which is comparable to that offered by the consid-
ered W-CDMA scheme. Furthermore, in both systems a con-
volutional encoder of rate 1/2 and constraint length 9 is used
41

Channel bandwidth B
at the transmitter and a Viterbi decoder is
employed at the receiver [4], where the channel User net data rate
state of each equalized symbol is used as side
information to the Viterbi decoder. Finally, in User velocity
W-CDMA interleaving is applied over the whole
Encoder
frame duration, while in OFDM interleaving is
performed over a single OFDM symbol in the Decoder
frequency domain. Table 1 summarizes the most
important simulation parameters for both W- Interleaver
CDMA and OFDM, illustrating that a fair com-
parison of the two schemes is possible. The
Channel model
values of these parameters have been used in
our computer simulations by means of which the ■ Table 1. A comparison of the main simulation parameters for W-CDMA
different BER performance evaluation results and OFDM.
have been obtained. These results are presented
in Figs. 5 and 6.
In Fig. 5 the average uncoded and coded BER is plotted
vs. the ratio of the average bit energy E b to the two-sided
power spectral density N0 for W-CDMA. The solid lines cor-
respond to the Rayleigh fading channel, while the dashed
lines illustrate the BER performance with Rician fading. In
Fig. 6 the corresponding curves are presented for the pro-
posed OFDM system. The performance evaluation results
indicate that for both systems an improvement of the uncod-
ed and coded BER performance is observed when Rician
fading is present. Comparing the performance results of Figs.
5 and 6, although W-CDMA achieves more favorable uncod-
ed BER performance, this result becomes less pronounced
when the coded BER performance is considered. This is due
to the increased frequency diversity offered by applying fre-
quency-domain interleaving to the proposed OFDM system.
Especially in the case of Rician fading, the coded BER per-
formance of both systems is comparable. However, in the
presence of Rayleigh fading, W-CDMA offers a BER perfor-
mance improvement, which is translated into approximately 2
dB at a coded BER equal to 10–3. Since the overall BER per-
formance characteristics of both W-CDMA and OFDM are
comparable, it can be concluded that the final choice between
W-CDMA and OFDM for a mobile multimedia communica-
tions system based on LEO satellites should be made by per-
forming additional studies with the goal of determining not
only the downlink BER performance but also the overall sys-
tem performance in both links. Suitable measures to be used
in order to accomplish the latter goal are the system spec-
trum efficiency and system spectrum capacity, which require
statistics of the carrier to interference (C/I) ratio for both
uplink and downlink [17]. Additionally, the system perfor-
mance with respect to timing and carrier synchronization
should be also evaluated for the LEO satellite communica-
tions channel.
Conclusions
In this article a comparison study of the uplink performance
of W-CDMA and OFDM is presented for mobile multimedia
communications via LEO satellites. In order to provide a
framework for a fair comparison, we have considered for both
schemes common parameters, including identical channel
bandwidth, coding/decoding algorithms, and similar net data
rates. The values of these parameters have been appropriately
selected in accordance with the corresponding UMTS system
specifications. For W-CDMA we propose a receiver structure
that eliminates CI and ISI for channel estimation and equal-
ization, respectively. For OFDM we propose a system the
design of which is based on the parameters of W-CDMA for
UMTS. For both schemes the design of the transceiver struc-
tures effectively takes into account the statistical characteris-
42
W-CDMA OFDM
5 MHz
120 kb/s 134 kb/s
20 km/h
Convolutional encoder, rate 1/2, constraint length 9
Viterbi decoder with side information
Time domain Frequency domain
(over one time frame) (over one OFDM symbol)
Stochastic channel model (LOS and NLOS)
tics of the LEO satellite channel so that the overall system
performance is improved. The simulation results evaluating
the uplink BER performance for a single user indicate that,
although the BER performance of W-CDMA is slightly better
than that of OFDM, the performance differences are rather
small. Furthermore, these differences in performance become
even smaller when channel coding is applied and LOS condi-
tions between the mobile terminal and the LEO satellite exist.
Since these results have not shown a clearcut winner, further
comparative studies are required in order to identify the most
appropriate transmission scheme for applications supporting
global mobile multimedia communication via LEO satellite
networks. Such studies should include determination of the
downlink BER performance as well as spectrum efficiency
and capacity performance evaluations for both up and down
satellite communication links.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Prof. K. Wesolowski, Univer-
sity of Poznan, Poland, for fruitful discussions concerning the
OFDM/TDMA time frame design parameters. This work has
been supported, in part, by GRST and the European Com-
mission under the PENED 99 Programme (99ED443).
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Biographies
APOSTOLOS PAPATHANASSIOU received his diploma in electrical engineering and
computer science from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece,
in 1994. From 1996 to 2000 he was with the Research Group for RF Com-
munications, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he worked as a
research engineer. In June 2000 he received a Dr.-Ing. degree (with distinc-
tion) from the University of Kaiserslautern. His Ph.D. dissertation deals with
smart antennas for the time-division duplex mode of UMTS Terrestrial
Radio Access. Since 1996 he has been engaged in numerous research and
industrial projects, in both Germany and Greece, dealing with different
aspects of wireless communications systems including satellite communica-
tions systems. In the past four years he has authored and co-authored
more than 40 scientific contributions, including one international and two
German patent applications. Furthermore, he has given lectures at numer-
ous seminars, tutorials, and international workshops and conferences. His
current research interests are in smart antennas for mobile radio and satel-
lite communications systems and statistical signal processing. He is a mem-
ber of the Technical Chamber of Greece.
APOSTOLIS K. SALKINTZIS [M] (a.k.salkintzis@ieee.org) received his diploma in
1991 and his Ph.D. degree in 1997, both from the Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi,
Greece. From 1992 to 1997 he was a research engineer at Democritus Uni-
versity, studying mobile data networks and working on research projects
dealing with the design and implementation of wireless data networks and
protocols. In 1999 he was a sessional lecturer at the Department of Electri-
cal and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada, and
from October 1998 to December 1999 he was also a post doctoral fellow
in the same department. From January 2000 to February 2001 he was with
the Institute for Space Applications and Remote Sensing (ISARS) of the
National Observatory of Athens, Greece, where he conducted research on
digital satellite communication systems. Since September 1999 he has been
with Motorola Canada Ltd., working with the GSM Systems Division on
GPRS and UMTS standards and systems design. In 1999 he was a visiting
fellow of the Advanced Systems Institute of British Columbia, Canada. He
has served as principal guest editor for a number of special issues, includ-
IEEE Personal Communications • June 2001
ing “Mobile Data Networks: Advanced Technologies and Services” for
Mobile Networks and Applications Journal, “The Evolution of Mobile Data
Networking” for IEEE Personal Communications, and “Satellite-Based Inter-
net Technology and Services” for IEEE Communications Magazine. He has
also been guest editor of “Multimedia Communications over Satellites” for
IEEE Personal Communications. He has served as referee for several IEEE
Transactions and for numerous international conferences. He has organized
several technical sessions at many of those conferences and has chaired
many of them. His primary research interests lie in the general area of wire-
less digital communication systems and networks. In particular, he is inter-
ested in mobile channel modeling, smart antennas and diversity techniques
for multipath fading channels, adaptive channel equalization, radio modem
design with DSPs, and multiple access/data link protocols. Currently, he is
working on 3G telecommunication systems design and standardization. He
is a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece.
P. TAKIS MATHIOPOULOS received his diploma from the University of Patras,
Greece, in 1979, an M.Eng. degree from Carleton University, Ottawa, Cana-
da, in 1982, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Ottawa, Canada, in
1989, all in electrical engineering. From 1981 to 1983 he was with Raytheon
Canada Limited, where he was involved in the analysis, design, implementa-
tion, and evaluation of a new generation of air navigational equipment
(DVOR and DME). He was also responsible for preparing and teaching cours-
es on the operation and maintenance of both types of equipment. From
1983 to 1988 he was with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Universi-
ty of Ottawa, where, since 1985, he has served as a research engineer and
twice as a sessional lecturer. During this time, he was also a consultant to
Raytheon Canada Limited and other companies. In 1989, he joined the
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of British Columbia (UBC),
where he now holds the rank of professor. Currently, he is on leave from
UBC, serving as the director of the Institute of Space Research and Remote
Sensing of the National Observatory of Athens, Greece. He has served as a
member of various scientific and advisory panels of the European Commis-
sion in the technical fields of mobile, personal, and multimedia telecommuni-
cations and information technology, including electronic publishing. His
research activities have been in the general area of RF and microwave digital
telecommunications, with recent emphasis on terrestrial and satellite-based
wireless personal communication systems and networks. In these areas, he
has co-authored/authored some 25 IEEE and IEE journal papers and 45 con-
ference papers. Since 1993 he has been editor of Wireless Personal Commu-
nications for IEEE Transactions on Communications. He also serves on the
Editorial Board of several other archival journals in the field of telecommuni-
cations. He has been a member of the Technical Program Committee for over
40 IEEE conferences. From 1992 to 1995 he was appointed a Fellow of the
Advanced Systems Institute, and from 1996 to 1997 he was a Killam
Research Fellow. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Greece and the
Province of British Columbia, Canada.
43