NovelSat’s NS1000 modulator, NS2000 demodulator and NS3000 modem. Photo: NovelSat

[Via Satellite 05-27-2014] NovelSat finished installing Carrier ID (CID) on its latest products, bringing the interference mitigating system to 100 percent of its satellite communication equipment. The process was completed most recently for NovelSat’s NS1000 modulator and NS3000 modem with support from the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG). NovelSat had been working on installing CID on its products for three months total, including testing.

“The CID was integrated into existing products as a software upgrade,” Dan Peleg, VP of research and development at NovelSat told Via Satellite. “The task was easy, as we have full control of the signal chain and since the CID feature does not require many resources.”

Peleg said interference had been a problem NovelSat customers were experiencing. The company has included anti-jamming technology and used interference reduction methods with its satellite communication products, NovelSat NS3, since 2011. Adding CID was another step to address customer concerns.

“Customers who encounter interference events will be able to quickly locate the source of interference, so long as the ‘interferer’ uses CID,” explained Peleg. “So, the main savings will be in resources for handling the interference and the usability of the specific satellite bandwidth resulting from a reduction of the downtime caused by erroneous, unintentional interference.”

CID works by planting a signal into transmissions sent by satellite modulators or modems. The signal is transmitted below the noise floor of the carrier, but can be detected by special measurement receivers. By including a unique ID on each satellite communication device, interference can be recognized and addressed much more quickly.

“NovelSat (and other companies) started work after IRG, Comtech, Ericsson and Newtec, made the [Digital Video Broadcasting] (DVB) CID Standard,” said Martin Coleman, executive director of IRG. “The idea was always to have an open DVB-CID standard so that the industry could either develop or ‘buy-in’ technology depending on circumstances … For NovelSat, as with others, it was simply ongoing development of their equipment to introduce the new DVB-CID standard that all equipment manufacturers are obliged to now build into future systems.”

Companies such as NovelSat who have modulator products are typically first to adopt CID, according to Coleman. Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) encoders with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) modulator boards, tend to follow close behind.

With CID, satcom users are able to make more efficient use of bandwidth through a lower cost per MHz. Peleg added that for NovelSat, the goal of improving transmission cleanliness does not stop here.

“NovelSat is developing new interference mitigation techniques to further improve the resilience to all kinds of interferences, e.g., X-Pole, Adjacent Satellite Interference (ASI), terrestrial, Continuous Wave (CW), etc.,” he said.

IRG will continue to play a role in these advances. Standards such as DVB-CID and the Network Information Table (NIT-CID) version are unlikely to change, but progress can still be made on reducing interference.

“We are but an observer as NovelSat, along with numerous other companies, are developing in line with IRG technology, techniques or improvements to minimize the creation of interference,” said Coleman.