Network coding applications to high bit-rate satellite networks

Satellite networks are expected to support multimedia traffic flows, offering high capacity with QoS guarantees. However, system efficiency is often impaired by packet losses due to erasure channel effects. Reconfigurable and adaptive air interfaces are possible solutions to alleviate some of these issues. On the other hand, network coding is a promising technique to improve satellite network performance. This position paper reports on potential applications of network coding to satellite networks. Surveys and preliminary numerical results are provided on network coding applications to different exemplary satellite scenarios. Specifically, the adoption of Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) is considered in three cases, namely, multicast transmissions, handover for multihomed aircraft mobile terminals, and multipath TCP-based applications. OSI layers on which the implementation of networking coding would potentially yield benefits are also recommended.