Non–GEO constellations analysis toolkit 4.1

NSR’s Non–GEO Constellations Analysis Toolkit 4 (NCAT4) is an assembly of quantitative models that x-ray and benchmark LEO and MEO satellite constellations.

The latest edition of NSR’s industry-leading benchmarking toolset has moved online bringing expanded capabilities and processing power. With NCAT4, users can assess the impact of constellations dynamically, across both space and time domains, and with finer resolution and speed than previous Excel versions.

Changes and New Additions in this Edition:

Version 4 of NSR’s industry-leading benchmarking toolset is a web application running millions of calculations on datasets compiled for planned and operational NGSO systems.  Each tool is configurable via filters, controls and user-defined inputs.

The latest toolkit version is now online and includes: 

• Point-and-click interactivity: Through interactive maps and controls (layers, filters, buttons and settings) NCAT users can zoom in/out, click to set user-terminal locations and control dynamic calculations and visualizations.
• Multi-orbit analysis: Simulations are configurable for a combination of sub-constellations, from one or multiple satellite operators. In NCAT4 the number of shells and satellites combinable is limitless.
• Enhanced database and application update cycle:
  • Quarterly: Enhancements to the software and database are deployed quarterly.
  • Daily: The number of operating satellites and orbital observations are updated daily and automatically for fully or partially deployed operating NGSO shells (Starlink, OneWeb, etc.)
• Dynamic, animated visualizations: Users can visualize propagating conditions in real time such as satellites position, footprint, visible satellites, antenna look angles, link latency variations, supply and demand heatmaps, etc.
• Space-time simulation controls: NCAT users can choose to run real-time or accelerated time-lapse analysis globally, regionally (user-defined area) or locally for over 200 countries and territories.
  • Simulations can be accelerated up to 300 times, allowing toolkit users to run an entire day of constellation performance inless than 5 minutes.
• Hexagonal Ground Grid: NCAT4 introduces a dynamic hex-grid. Country ground grid precision is configurable down to city-size resolution (~9 km cell radius, a 100X improvement over previous NCAT versions).
• Boosted IP throughput computations: In previous Excel NCAT versions, the IP throughput analysis for Non-GEO satellites was extrapolated from the result of executing link-budget (LB) calculations on specific, user-selectable beams. NCAT4 pushes this approach further by proactively computing LBs on all user and gateway beams. Additionally, the number of IP throughput link budget instances for combinations of gateway and user-terminal look angles is three times larger (finer) than in previous NCAT versions.
• Demand-driven supply: Via selectable supply fairness criteria, NCAT4 simulates reconfigurations of steerable beam capacity to best meet changing demand conditions.
• Upgraded Mobility Tool: NCAT4 is now linked to daily information sources* of commercial flights for the assessment of in-flight connectivity (IFC) supply/demand dynamics (tens of thousands of flight routes, airlines and airports). ­
• Downloadable datasets: NCAT4 simulations produce vast amounts of output datasets that are downloadable in CSV format for further processing outside the NCAT platform: Timestamped constellation shells data, terrestrial grids, capacity supply & demand calculations, assessment summaries, flight routes, charts data, look angles, beam utilization, etc. (details in Table of Contents)

NCAT4 is a standalone NSR product that may also be leveraged in combination with market metrics and insights from relevant NSR and Analysys Mason research studies. The toolset is meant for both business and technical professionals alike seeking in-depth understanding of NGSO SATCOM. ­

  * Daily flight information is currently supported through NCAT’s server API key. In future updates NCAT users may need to use their own keys to access daily flights information.

Key questions answered

• How does NGSO architecture differ at multiple levels: Coverage, capacity, beams and satellites?
• What is the service impact of constellations’ orbital mechanics (coverage, portion of the Earth covered, maximum latitude reach, distance and delay, orbital period, satellite pass time, etc.)?
• What is the maximum, average and minimum number of satellites in line of sight (LoS) across all latitudes, per shell or selectable combination of shells?
• What is the timestamped number of visible satellites and look angles at user-defined terminal locations?
• How does fiber latency benchmark against LEO topologies, depending on POPs, use of optical inter-satellite links (OISL) and link relays?
• What is the forward and return link capacity (spectrum, bandwidth and IP throughput) per selectable gateway/user beam, satellite and sub-constellation?
• How do uplink and downlink beam performance (efficiency, ModCods) and IP capacity vary based on user-terminal and gateway elevation angles?
• What is the maximum, minimum and average IP throughput capacity per beam, satellite generation and sub-constellation?
• How much capacity can be steered towards specific (definable) territories or countries at aggregate and cell area levels?
• How to assess supply and demand dynamics factually, based on user-configurable mobility and fixed broadband service plans? Where are the congestion areas and how they shift over time?
• How can the capital cost per usable Mbps/month be inferred? What is the sensitivity to cost and performance elements?
• Under what conditions can SATCOM constellations become competitive vs. fiber optics to service distant underserved communities? How sensitive is the backhaul business case to CAPEX and OPEX elements?
• What are the regulatory exclusion angles for NGSO systems to avoid interfering with GEO (GSO) systems?

NCAT4 processes millions of data points dynamically to drive unbiased, rigorous assessments of constellations’ capabilities and their competitive standing versus terrestrial networks.

Bottom Line: Clients rely on a feature-rich toolbox to drive analysis of LEO and MEO satellite constellations.