Dealing With Unknown Interferer or External Uplink
Learn how to rapidly determine if interference is coming from an external uplink—whether piracy or misconfigured third-party—and hand it off to the satellite operator's mitigation process.
This article is part of our Satellite Interference Operator Playbook: 6 Common Scenarios and How to Fix Them
Unknown Interferer or External Uplink (Piracy, Misconfigured Third-Party)
Objective: Rapidly determine if interference is coming from an external uplink and hand it off to the satellite operator's mitigation process.
Typical Symptoms
Your NOC and terminals see:
- New, unexpected carriers on the transponder
- Or modulation you don't control overlaying your band
Satellite operator confirms:
- The source is not one of your registered terminals
Immediate Actions (0-15 Min)
Protect your services:
- Move critical carriers away from the interferer if possible
- Adjust power and coding to maintain robustness while the operator investigates
Operator Coordination
Provide to the sat operator:
- Spectrum snapshots
- Time ranges and affected frequencies
The operator will typically:
- Use geo-location tools and/or Carrier ID databases to identify the source
- Issue bogey messages, request uplink mutes or adjustments, and, if needed, involve regulators
Prevention
Ensure all your terminals:
- Are properly registered with the sat operator
- Use Carrier ID when available
Participate in industry-wide interference reporting and coordination bodies, since effective mitigation in these cases depends on shared information.