A private data network is constructed by a company using a large gateway earth station close to the company's head office, a transponder on a GEO satellite and 200 VSAT stations located at the company's retail outlets across the United States. The VSATs send data related to every sale directly from the sales register and also handle credit card transactions.
a. What does the acronym VSAT stand for? What diameter antenna would you expect to be used at the retail outlets? (Give a range, in meters.)
b. Is this a star or mesh network?
c.Would you recommend FDMA or TDMA for the uplink from the VSATs to the GEO satellite?
d. If FDMA is used, how many IF receivers are needed at the gateway station? Could these IF receivers be implemented digitally?