Satellite Interference Operator Playbook: 6 Common Scenarios and How to Fix Them
Copy-pasteable SOPs for the most common satellite interference scenarios—from adjacent satellite interference to 5G encroachment. Get practical, step-by-step guidance for NOC teams to stabilize, investigate, and prevent recurring issues.
Operator Playbook: How to Use This Section
This playbook gives copy-pasteable SOPs for the interference cases you'll see most often. Each scenario follows the same pattern:
- Symptoms: What you'll see in NOC tools and from customers
- Immediate actions (0-15 min): How to stabilize service fast
- Investigation (15-120 min): How to confirm the interference type
- Mitigation and recovery: How to fix it
- Prevention: What to change in design and process
Most interference in SATCOM is unintentional—bad pointing, bad cabling, wrong power, nearby RF systems—not mystery jammers.
Standard Interference Response Pattern
Regardless of scenario, operators should run this baseline checklist:
Stabilize
- Confirm impact scope: single terminal, beam, transponder, or fleet?
- If a handful of terminals: mute the worst offenders (highest EIRP or visibly distorted carriers) first
- If a whole beam or transponder is affected: consider traffic re-routing if you have protection capacity
Classify
- Is the issue downlink (your receive chain seeing noise) or uplink (you or another user are polluting the transponder)?
- Is it continuous (always present), intermittent, or bursty or pulsed?
- Does it track one antenna (local issue) or whole network (space segment or wide-area RF)?
Coordinate
Loop in your satellite operator's NOC or ISOC early for:
- Cross-checks on other customers
- Carrier ID or geolocation support to identify misbehaving uplinks
If you suspect terrestrial systems (5G, radar), coordinate with spectrum regulators or MNOs via the sat operator.
Document
Capture: time ranges, affected carriers, spectra screenshots, modem logs, weather, any recent configuration changes. Tag and store as a repeatable pattern—feed back into your internal interference fingerprints library.
Scenario 1: Adjacent Satellite Interference (ASI)
Your antenna picks up energy from neighbour satellites in the arc. Worst on small dishes (45-65 cm) and mobile VSATs in clear weather when neighbours are heavily loaded.
Key signs: Degraded C/(N+I) on specific downlink carriers, QoS drops when adjacent satellites activate new co-frequency, co-coverage, co-polarization carriers.
Read the full ASI response SOP
Scenario 2: Cross-Polarization (Xpol) or Mispointed Antenna
Incorrect feed or antenna alignment leaks power into the orthogonal polarization channel. Usually traced to misaligned ground antennas or poor installation.
Key signs: High XPI or Xpol leakage reported by satellite operator, lower C/N with a ghost of the opposite polarization on the same frequency.
Read the full Xpol response SOP
Scenario 3: Uplink Overpower or Dirty Carrier
One of your terminals over-drives the transponder, creating ASI, XPI, or intermod products. Often triggered by misconfigured output power, PA in compression, or insufficient multi-carrier back-off.
Key signs: Satellite operator reports overpowered carrier at your network ID, carrier looks wider or distorted versus nominal mask, neighbour carriers show raised noise floor.
Read the full uplink overpower response SOP
Scenario 4: Terrestrial 5G, Cellular, FM or Radar Interference
Strong nearby terrestrial RF systems bleed into satellite downlinks via adjacent or overlapping spectrum, especially C-band and S-band.
Key signs: Degraded C/N localized to sites near cities, airports, or ports. Worse at certain times of day. Spectrum shows strong 5G OFDM, pulsed radar, or FM signatures in your front-end bandwidth.
Read the full terrestrial interference response SOP
Scenario 5: Intermittent Aircraft or Radar Interference
Pulsed interference from aircraft altimeters or radar that mimics random outages. Correlates with flight paths or ship movements near airports and coasts.
Key signs: Brief, recurring C/N dips or packet loss. Spectrum shows pulsed signals in bands adjacent to your downlink (radar in 2-4 GHz S-band, altimeters near 4.2-4.4 GHz).
Read the full aircraft/radar interference response SOP
Scenario 6: Unknown Interferer or External Uplink
Interference from an unregistered or misconfigured third-party uplink—sometimes piracy, more often a configuration mistake.
Key signs: 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.