Satellites for Mobile Communications - Civilian and Defense Applications.

Satellites have, in the past, primarily been used to provide fixed communications. Advances in both satellite and terminal technologies have made larger, more powerful satellites and smaller, portable earth terminals possible. This thesis examines the feasibility of using satellites to provide mobile communications. Operational concepts of a land mobile satellite system and three such proposed systems are discussed. The benefits of a land mobile satellite system as well as civilian applications of such a system are reviewed. Policy issues facing the Federal Communications Commission FCC and its decision to, or not to, allocate radio spectrum to a land mobile satellite system is also examined. National defense, vital to our national security, is dependent upon the ability to communicate. The Department of Defense increasingly relies upon satellites to provide communication between widely dispersed mobile units. The review of present and future defense mobile satellite systems illustrates the special defense communications issues that must be considered in the development and employment of defense mobile satellite communications systems.