PAGE CONTENTS
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.
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.
