Rain rate and rain attenuation prediction for satellite communication in Ku and Ka bands over Nigeria

Abstract

Rain rate and rain attenuation predictions are one of the vital steps to be considered when analyzing a microwave satellite communication links at the Ku and Ka bands. In this paper, tools for the prediction of rain rate and rain attenuation are presented in the form of contour maps for Nigeria using a massive rainfall data bank of 30 years which are taken from measurements made from the coast to the arid region of Nigeria. Rain-rate maps for the country of Nigeria were developed using the models purposely designed for tropical zones while ITU-R models were used for the rain-attenuation maps. The information from these maps will be a good preliminary design tools for both terrestrial and earth-satellite microwave links and also provide a broad idea of rain attenuation for microwave engineers.