Abstract
The use of DVB-S and DVB-RCS for conducting two-way communications from small satellite terminals has become well established in Europe and elsewhere. During the development of DVB-RCS the possibility of limited use for satellite terminals that were moving was considered in January 2004 and incorporated into the Guideline document associated with the Standard in April 2005. It was noted, however, that this matter could be addressed further as a future development. This paper addresses the steps that have been taken since then to realize this objective. During the last few years, it has been shown that the DVB-S2/DVB-RCS specifications are good candidate baselines for the efficient implementation of broadband services to mobile users. Results of these studies were gathered in a study mission report from the TM-RCS ad hoc group. It was demonstrated that both forward and return channel waveforms are impacted by the mobile usage, and should be addressed in the scope of an update of the DVB-RCS standard. Technical analysis identified that DVB-RCS, as it had been originally designed for fixed satellite services, provided most of the features required by mobile applications above 5GHz, and could be turned into a competitive solution with a few carefully crafted modifications. Subsequent activities within the TM-RCS Group have led to an efficient and robust standard that incorporates mobility more definitely into version 1.5.1 of the DVB-RCS specifications, along with appropriate detailed 'Guidelines' documentation giving expanded description of the standard and its use and application. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.