It is a sad fact that although interference mitigation has come a long way over recent years, it remains a thorn in the side of the satellite industry. In the past, it was enough of an achievement to detect the source of interference within hours or days, and even solving it at all was another. In the long run, prevention is a better cure, but when it comes to interference, operators and users can be as diligent as they like, putting measures in place to avoid interference and doing their best to solve it when it occurs. However, not everyone is doing the same. Whether it’s by error, poor knowledge or intentional, interference continues to occur, costing valuable time and resources to resolve. So, what can we do about it?
Cancellation Technology
Whether it’s mis-pointing during setup or degradation of signal mid-service, the repercussions of satellite interference can be huge because of the loss of quality of service for users and the potential for affecting other services. But what if it was possible to detect errors before they caused a service issue, and as soon as it happens? Furthermore, what if we could ‘cancel’ that interference in-house, using automated technology, so that consumers at home never even knew there was a problem to begin with?
What we need to look at investing in next is cancellation technology, i.e. a way of putting a stop to interference as soon as it’s detected in real time. Identifying the source of radio-frequency interference (RFI) sooner and resolving the cause means that a service is not offline, and customers remain unaffected.
Technology, in particular automated technology like this is important because many satellite customers are understandably not specialists in the use of spectrum and satellite tech. The people operating equipment on the ground are not satellite engineers, and therefore errors often remain undetected for significant periods of time, disrupting vital services. Often, these issues then require a long chain of human contact to find someone able to solve the issue, putting satellite operators under even more pressure.
But even in specialist satellite setups, errors can easily occur. In VSAT deployments for example, we know that operators and most users are putting as many mitigation measures in place as possible, but it’s still incredibly challenging to set up with no errors at all. With technology in place to detect, alert and better still, solve the RFI issue, this not only improves the efficiency of that particular VSAT operation, but it also means that users are aware of what exactly caused the error, and are able to put measures in place to avoid the same RFI-causing errors again in future.
Future of RFI Interference Mitigation
Automation and technology are the key to preventing satellite interference and maintaining good quality of service for all satellite users. Integrasys has been at the forefront of network monitoring and automation systems for 30 years, and excitingly is very near to bringing to market a product which will be able to cost-effectively cancel interference in real time. The more we automate operations with new technology such as this, the less room there is for error. Not only does this save operators time and money solving errors, but users are also guaranteed consistent error-free services, which is so key during this period of huge change for the satellite and communications industry on the whole.
There are big opportunities on the horizon for satellite with the coming wave of 5G, as well as LEO satellites and connected devices. If satellite doesn’t resolve its bugging issue with interference and work to maximise efficiency, it could be under threat from other services, or at the very least miss out on huge opportunities to grow.
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Alvaro Sanchez is the CEO of Integrasysand Marquess of Antella (Noble Title from 17th century in Spain). Alvaro is a Software and Industrial engineer by European University and holds a Master Degree in Management, Sales & Marketing by ESIC Business School. Alvaro during the last 10 years has worked at Integrasys as Management, Sales Director and Executive roles were he was very successful growing the sales, revenue, profit and responsibilities within the company; and previous to that he was working at CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research as a RF Engineer measuring timing in a Nanosecond Synchronization for measuring the Neutrino Speed. The Noble Title that he hosts, is coming in his heritage from 1649 from his ancestor Nicolo Palavicino, given by Phillip IV in Sicily for the Antella region near Florence. He can be reached at alvaro.sanchez@integrasys-sa.com
