Improvement on Profile Path Reduction Factors for Rain Attenuation Predictions Using Vertically – Pointing Radar for Terrestrial and Satellite Applications in Tropical Region

Abstract

More than ever before, applications of satellite services continue to gain recognition due to more growth in technological systems and applications. However, propagations along the Earth-space path suffer degradation due to hydrometeors such as rain, fog, haze, snow and hail. Among the hydrometeors, rain has been identified to be the most deterrent to satellite and terrestrial propagation links especially at frequency greater than 10 GHz. This paper proposes an improvement to effective path length for rain attenuation predictions in the tropic. Experimental data derived from vertically-pointing micro rain radar and Eutelsat 36B Ku-band link in Akure (Lat. 7º 25ˈE, Long. 5º 21ˈN), Southwestern Nigeria has been used. The proposed path length reduction model has been incorporated into the ITU-R model.  The reduction factors were estimated for different rain types based on 5-year data (2012 - 2016).Comparison with the ITU model and some existing models indicate appreciably improve prediction accuracy for the location based on average percentage error and root mean square. The result will be applicable to communication systems operating at high elevation angles over the study location.