SkyMon VSAT

Status

Completed
Status date

2020-03-04
Activity Code

6B.048

Objectives

The satellite industry is extremely successful in providing internet connectivity in areas where terrestrial communication infrastructure is too weak or even not available at all. New mega constellations such as OneWeb and LeoSat cover the whole world with internet connectivity, including the polar regions. The number of users grows along with the number of satellites in orbit, as VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) technology is an affordable, effective alternative to terrestrial communication for remote internet anywhere in the world. However, satellite interference caused by poorly installed VSAT stations already account for 40% of all interference cases – a very serious issue.

SkyMon VSAT allows satellite operators to monitor, identify and resolve satellite interferences originating from VSAT systems. Due to the nature of the communication technology (TDMA) used by VSAT systems, identifying and localizing interference-causing VSAT stations is often very complex and time-consuming. SkyMon VSAT solves this issue with two products that are fully integrated in the SkyMon product range:

VSAT Monitoring analyses, classifies and monitors a VSAT network, shows all active terminals and identifies those that are causing interference on the x-pol or adjacent satellite (ASI)
VSAT Geolocation determines the geographical position of one or more VSAT stations

Challenges

The key challenge of the project is to identify the VSAT terminals without interacting with the VSAT hub, only using information of the VSAT networks that can be received free over the air.

Benefits

With the SkyMon product suite, you can take quick action to restore signal quality to the levels your customers have come to expect from you, saving both time and money and strengthening your reputation.

Features

In a first version, SkyMon VSAT supports DVB-RCS, DVB-RCS2, iDirect and Hughes IPOS. Further VSAT protocols are on the roadmap

System Architecture

Main system benefits at a glance:

Classification of VSAT network
Automatic identification of TDMA carriers
Demodulation of TDMA carriers
Overview of the identified VSAT networks including all active terminals
Monitoring of cross-pol and adjacent satellite interference for each active terminal
Creation of a list of terminal-IDs causing interference
Geographical location of VSAT terminals on a map

SkyMon VSAT is a comprehensive solution to combat interferences originating from VSAT networks. SkyMon VSAT classifies the VSAT network, then monitors and identifies x-pol and adjacent satellite interference for each active terminal. After the identification of a given terminal causing interference, SkyMon ILS can be used to determine its geographical position on a map.

Plan

The project plan consists of four phases. Within the first phase a feasibility study is performed to identify if the proposed performance parameters can be reached in theory. The second phase consists of the design of the solution. The third phase is the implementation of the solution and the fourth phase is the test phase.

Current status

The SkyMon VSAT monitoring and geolocation solution is fully developed.