Publicly available satellite internet access has existed for many decades, but due to progress in scientific and engineering fields and also commercial considerations, the field has recently seen rapid advances and wider public interest.
In our thesis we present an outline of key technical aspects and principles for communication satellites. We aproach the subject systematically and examine each part seperately, including the satellite bus, orbital parameters, frequencies and antenna needed for the communication link. We also examine the effects that communication window duration, satellite visiblity, Doppler effect and intersatellite links have on communication.
In the second part of the thesis we examine Starlink, which is a LEO constellation of thousands of satellites. Using test equipment we measure network parameters simultaniously for Starlink and a fiber optic reference connection to determine how the system compares to the most common internet access type in use in Europe today.
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