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Who We Are
SUIRG is dedicated to identifying and mitigating the growing problem of satellite interference and the economic harm it inflicts on the industry. Our elected Officers and Directors and active working groups govern our policies and activities.
Leadership and Governance
The 2007/08 SUIRG Board of Directors is comprised of:
Robert W. Ames, Jr. (SUIRG, Inc.)
Angela Maimo (Intelsat)
Hector Fortis (SatMex)
James Budden (Satellite Communications Operations Consulting)
Luis Jimenez (SES-Engineering)
Nigel Smith (QinetiQ)
Adam Edwards (SES-Engineering)
The SUIRG Officers are as follows:
Chairman: James Budden (Satellite Communications Operations Consulting)
President/CEO: Robert W. Ames, Jr. (SUIRG, Inc.)
Secretary: Nigel Smith (QinetiQ)
Treasurer: Adam Edwards (SES-Engineering)
Vice President: Hector Fortis (SatMex)
Economic Harm of RFI
Based on a SUIRG analysis of international satellite operators with small-to-large fleets of geostationary satellites in the AOR, POR and IOR regions, data indicates an operator can incur from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per year in lost revenue and additional manpower required to investigate RF interference.
Typical Causes of Interference
Radio frequency interference can have many causes. Among them:
- Reductions in orbital spacing of satellites
- Reduced antennae size, wider beams and higher power
- Poor equipment manufacturing & unmet performance specifications
- Decrease in knowledgeable staff & lack of training
- Poor installations, lack of routine station maintenance
- Lack of industry standards and guidelines, and
- Unauthorized use of satellite space segments
An example of interference under a communications carrier is shown below as displayed by a carrier monitoring system.
Typical Interference Under a Carrier
How SUIRG is Counteracting User Interference
As an industry membership organization, SUIRG acts as a clearinghouse of information and best practices regarding interference and works as an umbrella organization to coordinate industry-wide efforts to combat and control RFI.
SUIRG supports satellite operators and users by:
- Identifying and prioritizing the causes of radio frequency interference
- Acting as a central repository of RFI information and resources
- Coordinating industry-wide interference management efforts
- Providing a neutral and broad interface for manufacturers and vendors
- Serving as a single coordinating point on interference reduction issues
- Establishing the first global geo-synchronous satellite empirical database on interference statistics.
- Working with other user groups to develop an industry recognized training and certification program
- Providing a registry of uplinkers for global and regional users to locate specific uplink services and capabilities
- Working with satellite equipment vendors to establish an industry standard using the SUIRG specification for interference source locator identification capability on uplink carriers
- By taking a lead position in dealing with introductions of new systems into the FSS satellite market which may increase satellite interference such as BWA systems.
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