Performance Evaluation of an Improved PRMA Protocol for Low Earth Orbit Mobile Communication Systems

Future mobile communication systems will be characterized by the interworking of several networks that will be integrated into a unique system. The satellite component and the terrestrial one will use as far as possible the same protocols. This work is concerned with Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols. In particular, Packet Reservation Multiple Access (PRMA) has been considered as a good candidate for terrestrial cellular systems, since it allows high multiplexing gains, dynamic PRMA carrier allocation to cells, easy management of integrated voice and data traffic and a near-transparent behaviour with respect to user mobility. The main aim of this preliminary work is to investigate the suitability of the PRMA protocol for application to Low Earth Orbit Mobile Satellite Systems (LEO-MSSs). Moreover, we have proposed a novel version of the PRMA protocol, named PRMA with Hindering States (PRMA-HS), that is particularly suitable for application in LEO systems. This new technique has shown very promising results in terms of both packet dropping probability and throughput.