We have had two new companies join the SUIRG family:

• Alcatel Alenia Space, France: representing a worldwide standard for space development – from navigation to telecommunications, from meteorology to environmental monitoring, from defense to science and observation. www.alcatel.com/space
  
  
• HELLAS SAT Consortium Ltd., a joint Greece/Cyprus venture registered in Cyprus; owner and wholesaler of capacity and services of the Hellas-Sat 2 satellite, launched in May 2003. www.hellas-sat.net

In this issue's Member Spotlight, Adam Edwards of SES NEW SKIES explains the evolution of Trans-Oceanic connectivity, which enables information to be transmitted across Oceans with relative ease.

Thank you for reading the second edition of our newsletter. We welcome comments and suggestions for topics you would like to read about in upcoming newsletters.

May your operations be interference free.

SUIRG recently had its most successful meeting to date, attended by delegates and observers from around the globe. The meeting was held in the beautiful city of Stockholm at the Slussen Hilton and hosted by member Swedish Space Corporation.

There were a number of new members, and quite a number of observers at the meeting. Several observers, in later discussions, indicated their surprise at the number and power of the attendees, and at the open flow of information during the forum.

While we operate in a commercial and very competitive environment, the orbital resource in the geostationary arc is precious and vital to all companies involved. As a consequence, keeping the radio spectrum clear of interference is in the interest of everyone. Since attendees at the meeting were mainly the operations groups dealing with interference on a daily basis, we were able to focus on technical cooperation and check the competitiveness at the door.

With that foundation set, members openly discussed several interference cases based solely on the technical data. One particularly interesting discussion was the presentation by AsiaSat on the problems of sharing the satellite communication band with broadband mobile services and the resulting interference to ground station reception.

The forums covered all SUIRG activities both on the independent front and with other major global satellite groups such as the GVF and WBU-ISOG. Topics included: Operator Training and Certification; validation of training programs; embedded Interference Source Identification capability; the interference database; and a new suggestion of an on-line library of common interference spectral plot signatures and their solution.

Presentations covered a broad range of topics, leading to a great deal of frank discussion and collaboration. For example, in response to long-standing problems presented by two members, several of the more seasoned delegates were able to suggest solutions. As a result of this unique interaction, a recommendation was put forth to leverage the expertise of non-aligned members (i.e., independent consultants). Through SUIRG headquarters, members will be able to request support such as expert advice, whether remote or on location, for a "to be agreed upon" daily rate.

I would like to request that member companies evaluate their requirements and determine if this type of service will be useful to them and what level of cost they would see as suitable. Please email me at jim.budden@iinet.net.au if you would like to weigh in on the subject.

It was also interesting to hear from equipment vendors on steps they have taken in locating interference problems. These new techniques allow identification of a rogue transmission in minutes rather than the days it once took.

I would like to thank the Swedish Space Corporation, and in particular Mr. Mikael Stern and his very hardworking crew, for their efforts in hosting the conference with SUIRG, as well as all the delegates who made the effort to attend and participated in making this event so successful.

I hope to see another large attendance at the next meeting in Hong Kong in the fall of 2007.

In an attempt to support the growing needs of customers, satellite design has become more & more complex. This complexity includes the evolution of Trans-Oceanic connectivity, thus enabling information to be transmitted across Oceans with relative ease.

Understanding the concept behind Trans-Oceanic connectivity is paramount to all personnel involved in satellite transmissions. Failure to obtain the necessary training and understanding can result in serious interference to other services operating on the same spacecraft. "Universal Access Procedures" were developed as the industry standard to assist those personnel operating satellite ground terminals and reduce the potential risk of Satellite Interference.

Regional connectivity is fairly straightforward: frequency translation and polarization techniques allow both the downlink signal and the cross polarization components to be visible from the transmit site. This enables a properly trained ground station operator to monitor his transmission while accessing the Satellite Operations Centre and, more importantly, during the entire transmission.

However, Trans-Oceanic connectivity does not allow for either the downlink signal or the cross pol component to be visible from the transmit site. Satellite Operators whose spacecraft have Trans-Oceanic beams, install global monitoring systems to assist Operations Centre staff in the complex role of monitoring its payload, maintaining the integrity of all its services, and, as far as possible, keeping them free from interference. It is also particularly important for these operators to follow the ITU Standard "Universal Access Procedures."

The Training and Certification Working Group of SUIRG firmly supports the requirement for necessary training and certification within the Satellite Industry, it also recognizes that this must include all personnel involved with any Satellite uplinking responsibility. The Group is working closely with dedicated training suppliers along with sister Organizations in an attempt to reduce interference from the Satellite Industry. For more information about the Training and Certification Working Group, please contact Adam Edwards via e-mail at adam.edwards@ses-newskies.com

QinetiQ announced on Nov. 1 that it is launching a European satellite interference geolocation service intended to deter malicious or accidental disruption of satellite communications services while allowing customers to identify and locate the source of the interference. The service, based on QinetiQ's SatID system, uses patented techniques to deliver the service. No equipment is required at the customer site, and users can acquire the service through a pay-as-you-go annual contract, QinetiQ said.

SUIRG is pleased by coverage it has received recently in several industry publications:

July Asia Pacific Broadcasting:
Andrew Yeo, Publisher and Editorial Director wrote about satellite interference in his editorial. Yeo references SUIRG as the source behind the figure of over 4,000 interference incidents each year. He writes, "SUIRG has done a wonderful job in identifying the main causes of interference," and continues favorably by urging readers to join SUIRG and highlighting the Web-based training scheme that SUIRG and e-Blended Learning Solutions will be launching in 2007.

August 29 Space News
In an article titled "Inability To Jam Hezbollah Satellite TV Signal Spurs Israeli Research," Space News correspondent Barbara Opall-Rome writes about the attempts by the Israeli army to disrupt transmissions by enemy groups carried on commercial satellites during the five-week campaign in August. The article quoted SUIRG President & CEO Robert Ames about the relative ease of jamming a specific satellite transponder and the possible challenges that the Israeli army might have faced: "[Jamming] occurs globally on perhaps a monthly basis, typically due to political or religious disagreement between countries or organizations. They make their discomfort known through intentional jamming. Satellite interference capabilities have been around since the mid-1970s. But if the Israelis are talking about technological challenges, I assume they are aiming for a capability that goes way beyond what our companies have experienced to date."