EVALUATION OF RAINFALL RATES AND RAIN-INDUCED SIGNAL ATTENUATION FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATION IN THE SOUTH-SOUTH REGION OF NIGERIA

Ubong Ukommi; K. Ekanem; E. Ubom; K. Udofia

doi:10.4314/njt.v42i4.7

Authors

U. Ukommi Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
K. Ekanem Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
E. Ubom Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
K. Udofia Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.v42i4.7

Keywords:

Rain attenuation, Rain rate, Satellite communications, Signal propagation, Weather impairments

Abstract

Rain fade causes signal attenuation which can relatively results in signal quality performance degradation, increased pathloss and coverage area reduction in satellite communication networks, most especially in the tropics and at higher operational frequencies above 10GHz. Analysis of rain attenuation provides useful insight for satellite communication engineers for efficient network planning and design within the region of study. Hence this paper presents three-year analysis of signal-induced attenuation in the South-South States of Nigeria for the cities of Port-Harcourt, Uyo, Calabar and Eket, whose terrain characteristics could be generalized to represent urban, sub-urban and rural terrains in Nigeria. The International Telecommunications Union Radio-wave propagation (ITU-R P618-13) model was used to estimate the long-term rain attenuation at 10GHz, 20GHz and 30GHz for satellite communication applications. Results obtained at 10GHz, 20GHz and 30GHz operational frequencies show that at high frequency, rain fade can cause signal attenuation levels in the south-south region of Nigeria. In all, Calabar recorded the highest rain rate and corresponding highest attenuation level of 96.13dB at 30GHz compared to 50.29dB at 20GHz for the period under review.

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