Indonesia is a tropical country with high rainfall intensity. This high rainfall
intensity makes rain attenuation one of the main factors affecting the quality of
satellite communication systems, including satellite communication systems using
VSAT IP services. Rain attenuation is caused by the absorption and scattering of
electromagnetic waves by raindrops, which can result in signal power reduction.
This study aims to determine the impact of rain attenuation on the quality of the
Merah Putih satellite communication system for VSAT IP services, focusing on the
C-Band and Extended C-Band frequencies in the Bogor–Sorong communication
link. It also analyzes the effect of rainfall intensity on rain attenuation using two
rain attenuation models, the Crane Global Model and ITU-R P.618-14, and
identifies the appropriate rain attenuation model based on the link budget
calculation with optimal values. Based on the research conducted, it can be
concluded that the higher the rainfall intensity and the frequency used, the greater
the resulting rain attenuation, and vice versa. The appropriate rain attenuation
model identified in this study is the ITU-R P.618-14 model, which, despite the signal
reduction due to rain attenuation, still provides a more optimal link budget value
compared to the Crane Global Model. This is demonstrated by the total C/N
parameter values for the C-Band frequency at 15.605415 dB and for the Extended
C-Band frequency at 15.655086 dB. The Eb/No parameter values for the C-Band
frequency are 10.58852 dB and for the Extended C-Band frequency are 10.63819
dB. Additionally, the ITU-R P.618-14 Model produces smaller BER parameter
values, namely 2.1849×10?6 for the C-Band frequency and 2.0742×10?6 for the
Extended C-Band frequency.
Keyword : Crane Global Model, ITU-R P.618-14 Model, Link Budget, Rain
Attenuation.