Jeffrey D. Wilson

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Modeling C-Band Co-Channel Interference From 

AeroMACS Omni-Directional Antennas to 

Mobile Satellite Service Feeder Uplinks 

NASA/TM—2011-216938

January 2011
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Jeffrey D. Wilson

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Modeling C-Band Co-Channel Interference From 

AeroMACS Omni-Directional Antennas to 

Mobile Satellite Service Feeder Uplinks 

NASA/TM—2011-216938

January 2011

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135
Acknowledgments

The author thanks John Pahl of Transfi nite Systems Limited for help with the Visualyse Professional software, Dr. Izabela 

Gheorghisor of The MITRE Corporation for sharing her airport data set, Robert Kerczewski and James Budinger of NASA for 

helpful discussions and comments, and Rafael Apaza of the Federal Aviation Administration for helpful discussions and support.

Available from

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Available electronically at http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov

Trade names and trademarks are used in this report for identifi cation 

only. Their usage does not constitute an offi cial endorsement, 

either expressed or implied, by the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration.

Level of Review: This material has been technically reviewed by technical management. 

This report contains preliminary fi ndings, 

subject to revision as analysis proceeds.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 1 

Modeling C-Band Co-Channel Interference From AeroMACS 

Omni-Directional Antennas to Mobile Satellite 

Service Feeder Uplinks 

Jeffrey D. Wilson

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135 

Summary

A new C-band (5091 to 5150 MHz) airport communications system designated as Aeronautical 

Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS) is being planned under the Federal Aviation 

Administration’s NextGen program. An interference analysis software program, Visualyse Professional

(Transfinite Systems Ltd), is being utilized to provide guidelines on limitations for AeroMACS 

transmitters to avoid interference with other systems. A scenario consisting of a single omni-directional 

transmitting antenna at each of the major contiguous United States airports is modeled and the steps 

required to build the model are reported. The results are shown to agree very well with a previous study.

1.0 Introduction

Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS) is a new C-band (5091 to 

5150 MHz) airport communications system being planned under the Federal Aviation Administration’s 

NextGen program (Ref. 1). Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) Special Committee 

223 is now engaged in defining standards for the AeroMACS service in the United States. European 

Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) Working Group 82 is conducting a parallel 

activity in Europe. It is essential that significant interference with other C-band systems already 

occupying the band does not occur. Services for which approved allocations now exist in the 5091 to 

5150 MHz band include Aeronautical Radionavigation Service (ARNS), Aeronautical Mobile Service 

(AMS) (specifically Aeronautical Security (AS)), Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry (AMT), Aeronautical 

Mobile (Route) Service (AM(R)S), and Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) (specifically Mobile Satellite 

Service (MSS) feeder uplink). The Globalstar low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation is currently using the 

FSS service allocation in this band. The other services allocated in this band are not yet being used. At the 

same time, the AeroMACS system will operate as AM(R)S, with a higher priority than the other services 

allocated except the incumbent FSS system. Hence, the issue of primary and immediate interest is 

interference from AeroMACS into the FSS, specifically the MSS feeder uplink. The ultimate goal of this 

effort is to enable the establishment of practical limits on AeroMACS transmissions from airports so that 

the threshold of interference into MSS is not exceeded. The limits thus established will be used in the 

RTCA standards development process.

2.0 Analysis

In this interference modeling of a simplified AeroMACS architecture, Visualyse Professional 

Version 7 software from Transfinite Systems Limited (United Kingdom) (Ref. 2) is utilized. In order to 

benchmark the software, the architecture configuration of a case from Hoh, Gheorghisor and Box (Ref. 3) 

is used in the model and the results compared. In Reference 3, the co-channel interference from an 

Airport Network and Location Equipment (ANLE/now referred to as AeroMACS) system to nongeostationary mobile-satellite-service (MSS) feeder uplinks was analyzed. It was assumed that there was
NASA/TM—2011-216938 2 

one transmitter with an omni-directional antenna at each of 497 major airports in the contiguous United 

States. A worst case scenario was modeled with all transmitters on 100 percent of the time.

In the model, each airport transmitting antenna contributes the interference power Pr at the LEO, 

1414 km above the surface: 

Pr (dBW) = Pt + Gt – Lc +Gr – Lfree(d) – Lfeed –Lp + Bf (1) 

where

Pt transmitter power = 8.6 dBW (7.2 W) 

Gt AeroMACS antenna gain (8 dBi peak) 

Lc cable/line loss in AeroMACS transmission system = 1 dB

Gr satellite antenna gain (6 dBi peak) 

Lfree free-space path loss (dB)

Lfeed feed loss = 2.9 dB 

Lp polarization discrimination = 1 dB 

BLEO receiver bandwidth at LEO satellite = 1.23 MHz 

BAER transmitter bandwidth at AeroMACS ground station = 20 MHz 

Bf bandwidth factor = 10*log(BLEO/BAER) = –12.1 dB 

d distance between AeroMACS transmitter and LEO satellite receiver (1414+ km)

The components of the model consist of antennas, stations, carriers, links, and interference paths. The 

details of building these components into the model are indicated below. 

2.1 Antennas

2.1.1 Globalstar Antenna

From Reference 3, the Globalstar (LEO-D) satellite has a 100.9° field of view (FOV) which enables it 

to cover approximately 9% of the Earth’s surface. Its receiving antenna has a maximum gain of 6 dBi at a 

nadir angle of 45°. 

To model this antenna, the antenna submenu is selected and an antenna named ‘Globalstar antenna’ 

is entered (Fig. 1). The ‘Edit’ button is clicked, a circular beam is selected, and the ‘Change’ button is 

clicked. The following gain table (Fig. 2) is entered and the gain distribution is shown graphically in 

Figure 3. 

Figure 1.—Naming Globalstar antenna in Antenna submenu.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 3 

Figure 2.—Entering Globalstar receiving antenna gain distribution.

Figure 3.—Globalstar (LEO-D) satellite receiving antenna gain.

2.1.2 Omni-Directional Antenna (for AeroMACS Base Stations)

For this antenna, the gain pattern as a function of elevation angle is given in ITU-RF.1336-1 (Ref. 4) 

with maximum gain G0 =8 and 

)( max[ ( ), )( ] G GG 21 θθ=θ (2a)

2

3

01 12)( 















θ

θ GG −=θ (2b) 

















+ 



























θ

θ

+−=θ

−

GG k

5.1

3

02 log1012)( max 1, (2c)

where

G(θ) gain relative to an isotropic antenna (dBi), 

G0 the maximum gain in or near the horizontal plane (dBi), 

Θ absolute value of the elevation angle relative to the angle of maximum gain (degrees), 
NASA/TM—2011-216938 4 

θ3 the 3 dB beamwidth in the vertical plane (degrees), and

k parameter which accounts for increased side-lobe levels above what would be expected for an 

antenna with improved side-lobe performance. 

The relationship between the gain (dBi) and the 3 dB beamwidth in the elevation plane (degrees) is: 

1.0 0 3 106.107 − G ×=θ (2d) 

In cases involving typical antennas operating in the 1 to 3 GHz range, the parameter k should be 0.7 

(Ref. 4). The corresponding antenna gain as a function of elevation angle is shown in Figure 4. A shaped 

beam is selected in the Antenna Properties for the Omni-Directional Antenna. Equation (2a) is input into 

a Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation) spreadsheet and the output is entered into the 

Elevation/Azimuth table shown in Figure 5. 

Figure 4.—Omni-directional AeroMACS base station 

antenna gain as a function of elevation angle.

Figure 5.—Entering elevation gain pattern for base station omnidirectional antenna.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 5 

2.2 Stations and Station Groups

Stations identify the locations of the transmitters and receivers. In the Station submenu (Fig. 6), a 

Globalstar (G*) satellite is added and through the Select Station Type submenu is defined to be a 

Terrestrial Fixed station. The position of a Globalstar satellite was then defined. The latitude and 

longitude were arbitrarily chosen and the altitude was defined to be that of the Globalstar orbits, 1414 km 

(Fig. 7). The Globalstar satellite was then linked to the previously defined Globalstar antenna (Fig. 8). A 

feeder loss of 2.9 dB was entered corresponding to the value in Table 3-2 of Reference 3. Because a 

Terrestrial Fixed Station was used to represent a satellite, the elevation needed to be set to –90°. One of 

the 497 airport base stations was also defined to be a Terrestrial Fixed Station and identified as Custom-2-

2-1 (Fig. 9). Its latitude and longitude were entered and a height above terrain of 20 ft (6.096 m) was 

defined. Its antenna was linked to the omni-directional antenna previously defined (Fig. 10). This station 

is used as a template for the other 496 airport base station transmitters through the wizard in the Stations 

Groups submenu (Fig. 11). The latitudes and longitudes of the other base stations are entered through 

reading a comma-separated values (csv) file (Fig. 12). This results in a Station List of 1+497 = 498 

stations (Fig. 13). In the Station Groups submenu, the airport base stations are linked together as 

‘Locations Service Area’ (Fig. 14).

Figure 6.—Station types.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 6 

Figure 7.—Setting the position of a Globalstar satellite.

Figure 8.—Linking Globalstar satellite to Globalstar antenna.

Figure 9.—Defining the position of the first airport base station.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 7 

Figure 10.—Linking the first airport base station to the omni-directional 

antenna.

Figure 11.—Defining the first airport base station as a template.

Figure 12.—The latitudes and longitudes of the other 496 airport 

base stations are entered.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 8 

Figure 13.—List of stations include a Globalstar 

satellite and 497 airport base stations.

Figure 14.—The airport base stations are linked together as 

‘Locations Service Area’.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 9 

2.3 Carriers

The carrier submenu is used to designate bandwidths, polarization, and other characteristics of the 

signal spectrum. The AeroMACS carrier with 20 MHz bandwidth and Globalstar carrier with 1.23 MHz 

bandwidth are defined in Figures 15 and 16. 

Figure 15.—Defining AeroMACS carrier. 
NASA/TM—2011-216938 10

Figure 16.—Defining Globalstar carrier. 
NASA/TM—2011-216938 11

2.4 Links

Links are used to connect stations, define propagation parameters, and criteria for interference levels. A 

link defines a communications path. In this model, transmit links are defined from the airport transmitters and 

a receive link is defined at the Globalstar satellite. Transmitter links are defined for each of the 497 airport base 

stations in the ‘Locations Service Area’ (Fig. 17), each utilizing the previously defined AeroMACS carrier at 

5.1 GHz with a transmitter power of 8.6 dBW (7.24 W). In Reference 3, it is assumed that there is 1 dB of line 

losses at the transmitters, so the transmit link power is set to 7.6 dBW (Fig. 18). The receiver link is defined 

at the Globalstar satellite (Fig. 19) and utilizes the Globalstar carrier at 5.1 GHz (Fig. 20).

Figure 17.—Setting up transmit links at each of the airport base stations.

Figure 18.—The transmit links utilize the AeroMACS carrier at 5.1 GHz with 

a transmitter power of 8.6 dBW. (In Ref. 3, it is assumed that there is 1 dB 

of line losses at the transmitters, so the transmit link power is set to 

7.6 dBW.)
NASA/TM—2011-216938 12

Figure 19.—Receive link defined at Globalstar satellite.

Figure 20.—Receive link utilizes Globalstar carrier.

All the links are defined as type ‘Earth <-> Space’. Other types in Visualyse are Terrestrial Fixed, 

Terrestrial Mobile, Space <-> Space, and Broadcasting. With this type we can choose from a number of 

propagation models. The model ITU-R Rec. P.525, Basic Transmission Loss in Free Space (Ref. 5), is 

selected from the window below (Fig. 21).
NASA/TM—2011-216938 13

 Figure 21.—Basic Transmission Loss in Free Space propagation 

model selected.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 14

2.5 Interference Paths

An interference path consists of a wanted or ‘victim’ link and an unwanted or ‘interfering’ link or 

links (Fig. 22). In this case the interference path is designated as ‘Airports into G*’ to represent the 

Globalstar receive link as the victim link and the transmit links at each of the AeroMACS airport base 

stations as the interfering links (Fig. 23). 

Figure 22.—Designating the Globalstar receive link as the ‘wanted’ link.

Figure 23.—Designating the transmit links at each of the AeroMACS airport 

base stations as the interfering links. 
NASA/TM—2011-216938 15

2.6 Output Menu

In order to plot the interference power over a map of the Western Hemisphere, the Create Area 

Analysis submenu is selected from the Output Menu and the following coordinates, station, link, and plot 

parameter are entered. The plot resolution is set to 175.74 km which provides 2° of longitude resolution 

(Fig. 24). 

Figure 24.—Setting up the output map of interference power. 
NASA/TM—2011-216938 16

3.0 Results

The simulated interference power is shown in global view in Figure 25. The corresponding twodimensional view is shown in Figure 26. 

Figure 25.—Simulated interference power in global view.

Figure 26.—Simulated interference power in two-dimensional view.
NASA/TM—2011-216938 17

The agreement is excellent between the Visualyse simulated interference power distribution shown in 

Figure 26 and that calculated by Hoh, et al. in Reference 3. In the Visualyse model, the maximum 

interference power is –149.3 dBW at the location 64° N 105° W, which compares well with the value of 

–150.0 dBW in Reference 3 at the location 67° N 104° W. This maximum interference power over 

northern Canada is due to the maximum transmitting gain of the AeroMACS antennas in the horizontal 

direction. 

4.0 Conclusions

The software program Visualyse Professional has been used to model a simplified architecture for the 

proposed Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS). The model scenario 

consisted of a single omni-directional transmitting antenna at each of the 497 major contiguous United 

States airports. The AeroMACS transmitter power was chosen to be the same as a previous study in order 

to verify the model. Details of the model building were described and the results agreed closely to that of 

the previous study in which the interference power over almost all of North America exceeds the desired 

threshold. This agreement provides confidence that the model is accurate and serves as a starting point for 

developing and investigating more sophisticated and realistic AeroMACS scenarios.

References

1. W. Ward, J. Budinger, R. Dimond, J. Wilson, and R. Apaza, “Aeronautical Mobile Airport 

Communications System Development Status,” IEEE 2010 Integrated Communications, Navigation 

and Surveillance Conference, May 11–13, 2010.

2. Transfinite Systems Ltd, http://www.transfinite.com/. 

3. Y.-S. Hoh, I.L. Gheorghisor, and F. Box, “Feasibility Analysis of 5091-5150 MHz Band Sharing by 

ANLE and MSS Feeder Links,” MITRE-CAASD Report MP 05W0000083, 2005.

4. Recommendation ITU-R F.1336-1, “Reference Radiation Patterns of Omnidirectional, Sectoral and

other Antennas in Point-to-Multipoint Systems for Use in Sharing Studies in the Frequency Range

from 1 GHz to about 70 GHz,” 1997–2000. 

5. Recommendation ITU-R P.525-2, “Calculation of Free-Space Attenuation,” 1978–1994. 
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Mobile Satellite Service Feeder Uplinks 

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14. ABSTRACT

A new C-band (5091 to 5150 MHz) airport communications system designated as Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System 

(AeroMACS) is being planned under the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen program. An interference analysis software program, 

Visualyse Professional (Transfinite Systems Ltd), is being utilized to provide guidelines on limitations for AeroMACS transmitters to avoid 

interference with other systems. A scenario consisting of a single omni-directional transmitting antenna at each of the major contiguous 

United States airports is modeled and the steps required to build the model are reported. The results are shown to agree very well with a 

previous study. 

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Airports; Transmitters; Low Earth orbits; Bandwidth; Omnidirectional antennas; C-band; Mobile communications systems 

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