Radio frequency interference (RFI) continues to be a challenge for the satellite industry. Originating from a variety of sources, including poorly configured or substandard antenna equipment, adjacent satellite transmissions, terrestrial wireless networks, and even malicious actors attempting to disrupt signals, RFI can be extremely damaging to satellite operations. For operators, the effects of interference range from minor degradation in signal quality to downtime and potential loss of revenue and customer trust.

The increasing congestion of the RF spectrum is exacerbating the problem. With more satellites being launched, particularly into LEO, and with a huge number of new antennas being deployed, the risk of interference is increasing. As a result, there is a growing need for more effective ways to detect and resolve interference.

Role of Geolocation in RFI Resolution

While satellite operators employ a range of interference mitigation techniques, geolocation has proven to be one of the most effective methods. However, it’s not without its challenges. Geolocation works by using multiple satellite signals to triangulate the area within which the interference is originating from.

This data provides operators with an approximate location of the interference, typically narrowing it down to an area spanning several hundred square kilometers. This makes resolution efforts challenging because a lot of time and effort then has to go into finding the precise location. It’s not unusual for operators to have to carry out extensive ground-based investigations with teams having to travel to the area to track down and determine the exact source of interference.

Given the potential operational and financial impact of interference, it’s important that the industry can access a more precise and time-efficient method for identifying and resolving interference.

Introducing Drone-based Geolocation Technology

Quadsat has recently launched a new geolocation product designed to significantly enhance the accuracy and speed of interference detection, by geolocating RF signals to a precise location. The new solution leverages Quadsat’s existing drone-based testing and measurement technology to enable commercial satellite operators and defense organizations to efficiently detect and precisely locate sources of interference.

Unlike traditional geolocation solutions that can only narrow interference down to several hundred square kilometres, Quadsat’s system uses drones to achieve a much higher level of precision, narrowing down the area to nearer the size of a football pitch! The drone is used to take an angular sweep  and determine the direction of the interference by moving the horn around. With each measurement, the system refines its data, ultimately pinpointing the interference source with remarkable accuracy. 

This new capability is available as part of Quadsat’s compact antenna testing and calibration solution which enables satellite operators and defense organizations to test and verify antennas and radio frequency equipment on-site.

An Evolving RF Landscape Requires More Sophisticated Solutions

Interference remains a major threat to satcom, with costly and potentially detrimental consequences for service providers and end-users, particularly in mission critical military and defense scenarios. And as the RF environment becomes increasingly complex and congested, operators will need ever more sophisticated techniques to resolve instances of interference quickly and efficiently.

Although standard geolocation is a widely used interference resolution technique, its precision is limited, which means that extra time and resources need to be spent to narrow down the origin of the interference. Given that there is a real possibility that interference will become more frequent as the number of satellites and antennas to be deployed in the coming years grows sharply, the industry needs a more efficient method.

Quadsat’s drone-based geolocation capability is a major step forward in interference resolution because it provides satellite operators with the ability to swiftly and accurately detect interference sources.

Find out more or get in touch with the Quadsat team to discuss your requirements.