Abstract-The paper introduces a statistical channel model

which is a combination of Rice and lognormal statistics, and is

suitable in principle to all types of environment (rural, suburban,

urban) simply by tuning the model parameters. The model

validity is confirmed by comparisons with measurement data

collected in the literature. Empirical formulas are derived for

the model parameters to fit measured data over a wide range

of elevation angles. In particular, the model is applied to nongeostationary

satellite channels, such as low-Earth orbit and

medium-Earth orbit channels, in which for a given user located

in a generic site the elevation angle changes continuously. Finally,

examples of average bit error probability evaluations in

the channel are provided.