How can satellite communication links remain reliable during intense tropical rainfall?
This study investigates rain fade impairment and the effectiveness of site diversity techniques for Ku-band Earth-to-space radio links in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria.
Rain fade occurs when rainfall weakens radio signals through scattering and absorption, a major challenge for satellite communication systems operating above 10 GHz, especially in tropical regions with intense convective rainfall.
The research analysed rainfall rate and received signal level measurements collected during the peak rainy months of 2024. Using the ITU-R P.618-11 and P.618-12 propagation models, the study estimated rain attenuation and diversity gain for both single-site and joint-site configurations.
The results show that attenuation increases with rainfall intensity and becomes severe when rainfall exceeds 70 mm/h. In July, a rainfall intensity of 200 mm/h produced a single-site attenuation of 54.83 dB, while August recorded 25.12 dB under the same rainfall intensity.
Site diversity significantly reduced signal degradation, with maximum diversity gains of 13.76 dB in July, 5.27 dB in April, 5.22 dB in August, and 4.10 dB in October. However, negative diversity gains at low rainfall levels showed that diversity becomes less effective when rain cells affect both receiving stations similarly.
This research supports the design of more reliable Ku-band satellite communication systems, improved fade mitigation planning, tropical propagation modelling, and localized communication infrastructure development in the Niger Delta region.
📖 Read the full article here:
https://doi.org/10.46481/asr.2026.5.2.485
Published in: African Scientific Reports