The document discusses satellite interference and efforts to reduce it. It describes how interference has increased as satellites become more crowded. An industry group called RFI-EUI was formed to address interference from end users. RFI-EUI established working groups focused on carrier identification, best practices, and training. Carrier identification technology will help identify interference sources faster. The industry must work together across organizations using standards and best practices to effectively address satellite interference.

1. Case Study
Rev A. Oct 11.
The Role of the Broadcaster in Reducing Satellite
Interference
By Dick Tauber, VP Transmission Systems & New Technology for the CNN
News Group WBU-ISOG Chairman / Co-Chair RFI-EUI
Interference has been a significant and growing problem in our industry over the
last few years, with satellites becoming more and more laden and the problem
outpacing what has been done to stop the inevitable interference that occurred.
In fact, I personally became involved in the fight against interference during the
late 90s as part of a World Broadcasting Union – International Satellite Operators
Group (WBU-ISOG) meeting in Geneva. A representative from the EBU brought
up the increasing trend of more and more interference affecting their broadcast
and as a group we decided that we really needed to do something to stop it.
Nevertheless, we were still a little unsure about what we could do.
The Effect on Broadcasters
There is no denying that satellite interference is a problem for all satellite
broadcasters. Live feeds in particular are a problem, as there is no going back
once a viewer has missed an important moment, such as a winning goal. Whether
live or not, viewers simply won’t put up with the effects of interference on their
viewing experience, and will either watch the programming on another channel, if
available, or simply watch something else.
In fact the exact scenario we are trying to avoid, I’m told, happened during the
last soccer World Cup. We have to try and avoid this kind of thing happening
again. Of course, we are always at risk of those determined to deliberately
undermine transmissions at such events, usually for political ends only, a trend
not easily averted, but it is not the biggest cause of interference.
What Has Been Done?
Up until now, very little, and certainly not enough has been done throughout the
industry, but we are finally starting to gain traction. One of the biggest problems
we had is a misunderstanding of the cause of interference. We simply didn’t
believe it possible that we, as an industry, were the cause of our own problems.
WBU-ISOG started out setting up the Rogue Carrier Working Group (RCWG) to
combat deliberate attacks on satellites.
In 2007 and 2008, in a bid to get to the crux of the problem, the former Satellite
Users Interference Reduction Group (SUIRG, now sIRG), collected data from
satellite operators to get a clearer picture of exactly what was happening and the
results were astounding. It became apparent that in fact only 0.03% of
interference was deliberate. Of the rest, half was caused by VSATs not working
properly, and the other half by equipment failure and human error.
Once we dug deeper into this and discovered these statistics, which naturally led
to a shift of focus. In February 2011, there was a meeting of more than thirty
broadcasters to discuss what broadcasters could be doing to help mitigate
interference. The immediate result of that was the founding of a new group,
Radio Frequency Interference – End Users Initiative (RFI-EUI). Our aim is to
essentially give voice to customers, clients, and all end users of satellite capacity
regarding radio frequency interference. We are working to involve broadcasters
worldwide in the fight against interference, yet we are also composed of
equipment manufacturers, industry groups, satellite system operators, and media
companies across the globe. To me this is key, satellite interference cannot be
solved by one group or one set of companies alone, we need to work together,
both with other organisations, such as the Satellite Interference Reduction Group
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2. Case Study
Rev A. Oct 11.
(sIRG) and the Global VSAT Forum (GVF), as well as other companies involved
right through the chain. And we are beginning to see the effect of this close
collaboration and effort on the part of all involved.
Setting Up The Groups
Once setup, the first task for RFI-EUI was to establish working groups to focus on
different areas of interference. Other organisations working to combat
interference have their own working groups already, and it is very clear to all of
us, that whilst we all have our specialist areas and focus, we need to work
together to reach our goal, rather than doubling up on effort. We don’t just have
broadcasters in our groups, we have a wide cross-section of the industry and we
have representatives from all of the other groups. We certainly would welcome
others, who want to try to get resolution on this problem.
RFI-EUI decided on three groups: Carrier Identification (ID), Best Practices,
Documentation and Technology, and Training and Certification.
Carrier ID
One of the major issues in the fight against satellite interference is the lack of
carrier identification. If carriers are not identified when interference occurs, it is
very difficult to determine where the problem has come from. Therefore, by
introducing Carrier Identification, in the form of an embedded code containing
critical information etc, across all transmissions, interference can be mitigated
much more quickly, This will significantly reduce the time taken to track and
correct those day-to-day interference issues that do crop up.
As with everything relating to satellite interference, for carrier ID to be
successful, it relies on the support of the entire industry. As broadcasters, our
role is twofold. Firstly, we need to be lobbying the satellite operators to not only
have the ability to handle carrier ID, but also get to the point where it is
eventually a requirement. Eutelsat and SES have both announced that carrier ID
will be integrated into transmission parameters for all SNG transmissions and new
DVB broadcasts in time for the London Olympics. Now we, as the end users,
should be lobbying SNG and truck operators to persuade them to follow suit, as
well as other satellite companies.
The other role for the broadcasters in the roll-out of carrier ID is to ensure that
we are transmitting an ID with our company’s signals. This means ensuring our
equipment is setup to handle this and that when we buy new equipment, we need
to be asking the question of whether it has carrier ID technology integrated.
An important milestone was reached at IBC, with six modem manufacturers
working together to have a new carrier ID technology adopted as a specification
by the DVB Forum. It has been accepted as a working topic and will now move to
the next stage of the process. The system put forward has been developed by
Comtech EF data, but the technology group will probably examine other
alternatives before issuing a standard. The technology being included in the
proposed specification contains the Carrier ID information within a separate
spread spectrum carrier. It is visible to operators, without the need to interrupt
the original feed, saving valuable airtime for broadcasters, when interference
occurs, by enabling operators to identify and stop the interference quickly and
effectively, since they can see the carrier ID of both signals.
Best Practices, Documentation and Technology
We also need to be working as an industry to establish best practices and to
ensure everyone throughout the industry sees the benefit of doing things in a
consistent and universally acceptable way. As an example, one thing we still have
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3. Case Study
Rev A. Oct 11.
problems with and have had for a few years, is auto-deploy systems. A few
manufacturers, including ND SatCom, On-Call Communications and Sematron
have taken great care and pride in ensuring that their systems would not function
if the parameters are not followed correctly. This is very key in an auto-deploy
system so that it only deploys when everything is exactly as it should be.
Accuracy is the key word here, not time!
By documenting best practices, it means that everyone can share and learn from
those experiences that others put forward and we can move ahead as an industry
together. There is new and innovative technology coming along, which can help
drastically reduce interference, and the task now is to share that knowledge
effectively.
Training and Certification
Training and Certification is another key area where we can drastically change the
landscape of the satellite industry. Naturally, if equipment installers and
operators don’t have the appropriate training, mistakes can occur all too easily
and that’s when you get interference. We really need to get to a point whereby
training is required and broadcasters and satellite operators only use certified
installers and operators.
This is also the case for SNG truck operators. Right now, they can simply turn up
and use the satellite with no credentials, other than the driving licence they need
to drive the truck. We urgently need a training and certification system to ensure
their professional credentials.
The Global VSAT Forum (GVF) already runs a whole host of great training courses
for satellite equipment installers and operators and has had nearly 4,000 people
from across the globe already undertake various courses and modules.
Moving Forward
We as an industry have made a number of important breakthroughs recently. The
announcements from Eutelsat and SES should have the knock-on effect of
encouraging other satellite operators to make similar steps. The DVB spec for the
new carrier ID technology will enable manufacturers to ensure a standard
approach and one that allows operators to mitigate interference, without
interrupting the feed of those on the correct satellite space..
A number of challenges remain however. One is extending the geographic reach
of our groups and initiatives, and helping those broadcasters, operators, and
manufacturers not currently on board to put the necessary steps in place to work
towards carrier ID, training and certification, and to become free of most
interference in the long run.
What is very clear is that to achieve our longterm goals, we need to work
together as an industry. The RFI-EUI represents the broadcasters, but we
established the group to work in concert and in conjunction with the satellite
operators to identify, mitigate, and prevent – ultimately to stop –satellite
interference.
Sandpiper House, Aviary Court, Wade Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 8GX, UK
T +44 (0) 1256 812 222 F +44 (0) 1256 812 666 E sales@sematron.com Making waves...
www.sematron.com