Prediction of monthly and annual availabilities on 10-50 GHz satellite-Earth and aircraft-to-aircraft links

A method is described which enables monthly predictions to be made for the attenuation statistics of radio links in the frequency range 10-50GHz, usin g data available in global meteorological databases, The method is applicab le to satellite-Earth, aircraft-Earth and aircraft-aircraft links, and can cover a wide range of availabilities (90% to 99.99%). Examples of monthly p redictions are given for a range of climates in the European region. The me thod includes models for the effects of clouds and gaseous absorption, whic h are particularly important Tor the 30 to 50GHz range at for low availabil ities. Although experimental data at 30-50GHz with acceptably long record l ength are relatively few, predicted monthly statistics can be integrated to give annual statistics and comparisons with such data illustrate the succe ss of the approach.