Optimal Beamwidth and Altitude for Maximal Uplink Coverage in Satellite Networks

Abstract: Dense satellite constellations recently emerged as a prominent solution to complementing terrestrial networks in attaining true global coverage. As such, analytic optimization techniques can be adopted to rapidly maximize the benefits of such satellite networks. The paper presents a framework that relies on two primary tuning parameters to optimize the uplink performance; (i) the constellation altitude and (ii) the satellite antenna beamwidth. The framework leverages tools from stochastic geometry to derive analytical models that formulate a parametric uplink coverage problem which also includes user traffic demand as an input. This allows operators to devise uplink expansion strategies to cater for expanding user demand. The framework demonstrates that fine-tuning of these parameters can significantly enhance the network capacity. We show that the optimization of random constellations provides a close match to that of practical satellite constellations such as Walker-delta and Walker-star.