B.1 Introduction

Many countries have adopted INTELSAT lease transponder facilities to provide a domestic service. The types and extent of the services depend greatly on the needs of the country in question. In this case study of a domestic satellite system design, we have chosen a simple implementation but one that is representative in design terms of all domestic leased systems.

The study was performed for the Greenland Technical Organisation which wished to install a domestic satellite system (INUKSAT) to provide telephone and telegraph links between key communities in Greenland and to provide broadcast audio programme channels from the main station to all outstations. In addition, it was planned to link the system to Denmark by means of a Danish earth station operating within the system.

The existing telecommunications links in Greenland are shown in Figure B.1 and consist of:

1. Terrestrial microwave radio link (2 GHz) providing automatic telephone, telex and audio programme service for the main communities just north of Egedesmind (EGM) to the southernmost tip of Greenland.

2. An HF low-grade service to certain settlements on the north-western and eastern coasts.

3. The ICECAN cable which connects Iceland and Canada and accommodates six telephone channels for Greenland service.

4. The DANSAT system which consists of an INTELSAT standard-B earth station located at Godthaab (GHB), providing ten telephone channels to the joint Nordic standard-A earth station at Tanum in Sweden via the INTELSAT AOR primary satellite.

Figure B.1: Greenland Telecommunications Present and Future

In Figure B.1 we also show the...