The 4-Parameter Ionospheric Channel Model: Part 1—Theory and Simulation

Ilir F. Progri

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The 1-parameter ionospheric channel model that is based on estimating the ionospheric delay is insufficient to enable the GNSS receiver to reliably acquire and track GNSS signals under severe ionospheric conditions. In order to solve this problem Giftet Inc. is proposing the 4-parameter ionospheric model. The 4-parameter ionospheric model is based on estimating four parameters: ionospheric delay, Doppler, amplitude, and phase scintillation. The 4-parameter ionospheric model presents a revolutionary advancement of our understanding of the ionospheric effects in the RF signals. In order to accurately estimate the ionospheric Doppler we have performed some of the most amazing mathematical calculations. This paper presents one of the most daunting tasks ever undertaken by a single scholar to very accurately model, analyze, and simulate the entire description of the ionospheric channel effects. Afterwards, the theory and simulation, presented in this paper, are completely verified and accurately tested, the implementation thereof in a single frequency GNSS receiver will enable it to perform just as good as or even better than a differential GNSS receiver. Moreover, future work will illustrate how we have employed an 11-parameter stochastic channel model to accurately estimate the ionospheric amplitude and phase scintillation based on ionospheric amplitude and phase scintillation variance calculations presented in this paper. Future work will illustrate the accuracy of this theory and simulations by converting the legacy forty plus thousands lines of the FORTRAN code of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model into MATLAB which represents one of the most tedious programming tasks. The future work results will show a perfect agreement between the theory and simulations and why the 4-parameter ionospheric channel model presents a revolutionary advancement of our understanding of the ionospheric effects in the RF signals. Keywords: 4-parameter, ionospheric, channel, model, delay, Doppler, amplitude scintillations, phase scintillation IRI, FORTRAN, MATLAB.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2018 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 29 - 1, 2018 Hyatt Regency Reston Reston, Virginia
Pages:	713 - 750
Cite this article:	Progri, Ilir F., "The 4-Parameter Ionospheric Channel Model: Part 1—Theory and Simulation," Proceedings of the 2018 International Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Reston, Virginia, January 2018, pp. 713-750. https://doi.org/10.33012/2018.15590
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