K‐band pilot tone data collected by the Advanced communications technology satellite (ACTS) mobile terminal (AMT) during 1994 are used to characterize the K‐band land‐mobile satellite channel. The characterization is twofold: a probability density model is derived which shows that the fade exceedance levels at K‐band are much higher than those at lower frequencies, particularly at L‐band. Furthermore, the fade statistics are very dependent on the geometry of the surrounding environment. The difference between good and bad environments is much more pronounced at K‐band than at L‐band. A discrete time model is used to provide insight into the bursty nature of the errors induced by propagation effects on the channel. For a data rate of 9600 bps, the average fade duration for a fade threshold of 6 dB is of the order of a few thousand bits, which corresponds to a fade duration of 2—5 ms. The fade durations are typical of those at L‐band which suggests that whereas the K‐band fades are more severe than those at L‐band, the durations are approximately the same.