Coded SC-FDMA for broadband satellite return links

In this paper we deal with Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) as uplink air interface of broadband satellite networks. Interestingly, SC-FDMA enables a significant increase of the spectral efficiency with respect to the state-of-the-art single-carrier systems. However, as witnessed by the recent specification of the Second Generation DVB Interactive Satellite System (DVB-RCS2) standard [1], in this context, the single-carrier solutions are still preferred to multicarrier ones. This choice is mainly due to the problem of the high vulnerability of multicarrier modulations to the synchronization offsets, phase noise, and, nonlinear distortion effects. In this paper we present a solution to these problems, by proposing a coded SC-FDMA system which including a Joint Multi-User (JMU) Estimation method, and a state-of-the-art Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) coding scheme. Accurate simulations considering, synchronization offsets, phase noise, and, nonlinear distortion effects, show that the present solution can effectively guarantee the quality of service necessary to support new interactive and on-demand services in a satellite scenario. © 2012 IEEE.