Second-order statistics of rain attenuation for satellite links located in the Ecuadorian coastal zone

The main problem that rain causes on satellite links is attenuation. It has been proved by several studies carried mostly in temperate regions, that there is a strong relationship between the precipitation rate and signal attenuation at frequencies higher than 10 GHz. The quality of service of radio links is an important aspect to consider in the design of satellite networks, which involves the dynamics of service interruption as a consequence of rain. This information allows the implementation of techniques that mitigate the link attenuation improving the quality and reliability of the aforementioned systems. Thus, the purpose of this study is to obtain second-order statistics of the attenuation by precipitation, specifically the parameters fade duration and fade slope. For this purpose, a simulation environment has been configured with satellite links at 20 GHz and a historical database of rainfall rates provided by four rain gauges located in the tropical cities of Guayaquil and Durán in Ecuador.