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IRG Members to Benefit from Eutelsat’s GSM Demodulation Tool

The tool has been developed to identify GSM retransmission interference, which can result from incorrectly installed or maintained RF cables connecting a modem to a block upconverter

Members of the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG) are to benefit from a new GSM Demodulation Tool developed by Eutelsat, and being offered to all IRG members including new members joining throughout 2015.

The tool, which was demonstrated by Eutelsat at the recent IRG workshop in London, uses a simple detector unit, a PC and mapping software to locate GSM beacons. In most cases the unit detects the mobile cell being received and thus pinpoints to one or a number of VSAT terminals in the area that are generating interference.

The tool has been developed to identify GSM retransmission interference, which can result from incorrectly installed or maintained RF cables connecting a modem to a block upconverter.

“This GSM Demodulation tool is an elegant solution, which can quickly and efficiently identify the impact of GSM retransmissions,” commented Martin Coleman, Executive Director, the Satellite Interference Reduction Group. “We are especially grateful to Eutelsat for making this tool available to our members, helping us, together with our members, to make a real difference to the industry.”

“We saw the need for an integrated solution to solve this issue,” commented Andreas Voigt, Communication Systems Manager, Eutelsat. “In the past, operators have used modified legacy Nokia handsets to detect this problem. This new tool integrates into the main operation to make resolution much simpler. We are confident it will make a huge difference for users.”

Eutelsat has already started the integration of this tool in to its main operation suite of interference mitigation tools.