Link Budget Calculations

If your target market is the Continental U.S., then the link budget estimates are fairly simple as you would get maximum signal strength in this region. A 1.2m dish and a 2-6 Watt BUC would be sufficient for most applications. In about 5% of the cases due to high bandwidth requirements and/or due to location considerations, a 1.8m dish would be required. For Ku band networks, it is a good rule of thumb to allow 7-8 dB of margin above threshold at the receiving site with clear sky conditions. This will generally provide link availability in excess of 99.5%.

Why do I need a link budget estimate?

To ensure proper coverage in a particular location, a Link Budget calculation may need to be done. A Link Budget is a calculation involving the gain and loss factors associated with the antennas, transmitters, transmission lines and propagation environment. It is used to determine the maximum distance at which a transmitter and receiver can successfully operate. In simple words, a Link Budget takes into account the location (latitude and longitude), size of the satellite dish (.74, 1.0, 1.2, etc), BUC size (2W, 3W, 6W) and modem for acceptable QoS.

We recommend a 1.2M dish and a 3 – 6 watt BUC for ideal coverage and iDirect series modems for network operations. Once a Link Budget is completed, you will know exactly what equipment is needed to provide satellite Internet connections in your region of operation.

Have additional questions about Link Budgets? Need to speak with an RF engineer? Contact us by phone on 866-306-1328 or Email your coordinates and business needs.