1. SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS COURSE: COMBINED TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY COURSE 1. BASICS OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 1.1 Birth of satellite communications 1.2 Development of satellite communications 1.3 Configuration of a satellite communications service 1.3.1 Communications links 1.3.2 The space segment 1.3.3 The ground segment 1.4 Types of orbits 1.5 Orbital positions and radio interferences 1.6 Types of antennas 1.7 Antenna performance measures 1.7.1 Gain 1.7.2 Radiation pattern and angular beamwitdh 1.7.3 Polarisation 1.8 RF equipments 1.8.1 BUC 1.8.2 LNB 1.8.3 Transceivers, Filters, Waveguides and Coaxial cables 1.8.4 Couplers, combiners and dividers 1.9 Earth station measurements 1.10 Services 1.11 Technology trends 2. POLICY AND REGULATORY GUIDELINES FOR SATELLITE SERVICES 2.1 Radio regulatory organizations 2.2 Satellite policy principles 2.2.1 Non Discriminatory Market Entry 2.2.2 Open borders for competitive access 2.2.3 Transparency of telecommunications rules and policies 2.2.4 Content-neutral regulations 2.2.5 Technology neutral regulations and licensing requirements 2.3 Legal framework of satellite communications 2.4 Key regulatory and licensing trends 2.4.1 Space segment 2.4.2 Ground segment 2.4.3 Establishing appropriate fees 2.4.4 Enforcement 2.5 Means of monitoring and controlling the spectrum
3. NETWORK PLANNING AND LINK BUDGET ANALYSIS 3.1 VSAT Network topologies 3.1.1 Point to point links 3.1.2 Star networks 3.1.3 Mesh networks 3.1.4 Broadcast 3.1.5 Hybrid networks 3.2 Access schemes 3.2.1 SCPC 3.2.2 TDMA 3.3.3 FDMA 3.3 Frequency bands 3.3.1 C-Band 3.3.2 Ku-Band 3.3.3 Ka Band 3.4 Base band signals 3.5 Digital communications techniques 3.6 Modulation techniques 3.7 Link budget analysis 4. VSAT INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE 4.1 VSAT Installation 4.1.1 Site survey and preparation 4.1.2 Calculating, measuring and working with a clear line of sight azimuth and elevation 4.1.3 Equipment assembly and configuration parameters 4.1.4 Grounding and lightning protection 4.1.5 Using a spectrum analyzer 4.1.6 Align the antenna to the satellite 4.1.7 Commissionning the service with the satellite provider 4.1.8 User acceptance tests 4.2 VSAT Maintenance 4.2.1 Preventive Maintenance actions 4.2.2 Troubleshooting and incident resolution 4.2.3 SLA 5. VSAT EQUIPMENT AND BANDWIDTH PROCUREMENT 5.1Define your needs 5.1.1 Business requirements 5.1.2 Bandwith requirements 5.1.3 Technical considerations 5.2 Acquire the Vsat 5.2.1 Procurement approaches and strategies 5.2.2 Prepare bids and inviting proposals 5.2.3 Evaluating proposals 5.2.4 Negiotate and award the contract
2. SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT POLICY MAKERS, AND REGULATORS This would be a capacity building program intended for Governmental and Inter-Governmental officials involved in regulation and policy; and would cover business relevant technical issues targeted to CEOs, CTOs, CFOs and others involved in telecom business decision making: Day 1 1) Basic Satellite Technology 2) Satellites Value Proposition: Cost factors, Satellites vs. Fiber; Myths and Realities Day 2 3) Satellite Economics: Satellite Design, Satellite Manufacture, Launch, Insurance, In-Orbit Performance, Monitoring Stations 4) Satellite Acquisition, Lease, Joint Ventures, Condo-sat, Pre-purchase Day 3 (AM) 5) Regulatory Factors: Orbital slot registration and ownership, Frequency Registration, Intersystem Coordination, Earth Station and Vsat Registration- best practices, Wimax and other terrestrial interference issues Day 3 (PM) 6) Regional and International Policy Making bodies on Satellite Communications: ITU, ITSO, FCC and current issues thereof related to Satellite Communications Day 4 7) Bandwidth Procurement and Optimising the Cost Factor: a. Services to be provided: Voice, VoIP, Data, Video (DTH, Broadcast), Internet connectivity, PoS b. Network Design, Technology Optimisation, c. Selecting a partner provider: Informal Multiple quotes, RFP, Single source d. Partner provider Factors to be considered: Price, Satellite type, capacity and availability of bandwidth, beam power and coverage, frequency band of operation, Operator NOC and Ground Station Equipment e. Purchasor decision factors: Growth Forecasts, Volume Purchasing, Pre-purchase, Leasing arrangements, Geostationary satellite vs. Inclined Orbit, antenna size, BUC size
Day 5 (AM) 8) Vsat Equipment Procurement and Optimising the Cost Factor: a. Pre-purchase planning (Includes Network design, Technology Optimisation, RFP design), b. Equipment Procurement arrangements: Vendor (or Operator) Financing, Export Financing, Own Financing, RFP, Contract Award, Ordering, Installation, Commissioning, Operation and Maintenance (Warranty and Repair Services) Day 5 (PM) 9) Contracts: Service Contracts, Security Deposits, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Payment arrangements. 3. SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS FOR EARTH STATION OPERATORS AND ENGINEERS This would be a technical course intended for Vsat operators, technicians and engineers to help them come up to speed with most of the technical concepts and practices; areas that are proposed to be covered include: Day 1 1) Satellite Technology: Satellites fundamentals, Orbits, Satellite design, Operation, Life Cycle Management, Tracking Telemetry and Control (TTCM) Day 2 2) Earth Station Technology: Types of Antennas (TVROs, Tx/Rx, Tracking), Antenna performance measures (G/T, Isolation, Transmit Sidelobes, Gain), Antenna Feeds, Antenna Tracking RF Equipment: BUC, LNBs, Transceivers, Filters, Modems, Waveguides and Coax, Couplers, Combiners and Dividers, Beacon Receivers Earth Station Measurements: Spectrum Analysers, Power meters, dbm, dbw, EIRP, db Day 3 and 4 (AM) 3) Transmission and Network Planning: Digital Technology: Modulation schemes, Voice and Video Compression, VoIP, Introduction to IP technology Frequency Band Planning: C vs. Ku, Extended band operation Network design: Types of Network and their Parameters: Cellular backhaul, corporate networks- Star, Mesh, IP Trunking, SCPC links, DVB links, Video Distribution and Contribution networks
4) Link Budget Analysis and Design: Input parameters, Link analysis tools, Eb/No, C/N, link availability, Performance margins Day 4 (PM) 5) Vsat Installation, Maintenance Day 5 (AM) 6) Vsat Maintenance Audit Periodic and Corrective Maintenance activities checklist, covering control tasks follow-up pending actions, namely through external suppliers (if applicable), as follows: Maintenance Actions schedule Hardware swap Local configurations Troubleshooting and Debugging Incident reporting ETA and ETTR concepts and external suppliers control Spares management Escalation procedures and lists Periodic Maintenance actions Control SLA Day 5 (PM) 7) Regulatory Factors: Licensing, orbital slot registration and ownership, Frequency Registration, Intersystem Coordination, Earth Station and Vsat Registration- best practices, Wimax and other terrestrial interference issues