Effect of using SCPC on the operation and costs of medium-level stations

Medium-level earth stations (simple antenna array, ordinary buildings and links with urban centers, operation and maintenance by a small staff, low-capacity or medium-capacity electronic telecommunications equipment on hand) can enable small or poor nations and isolated regions to utilize satellite communication capacities. The advantages and costs of SCPC systems in that application are explored. Different types of modulation and encoding (FDMA/PSK/DSI, FDMA/FDM/FM using compandors, delta modulation, 4-phase SDI/PSK) are considered. Components of earth-station costs (investment, operating costs, equipment costs, structures and ancillary equipment, depreciation, satellite rental) are analyzed. SCPC data transmission problems are also discussed