Bruno Sacco

DVB-CID: the novel DVB standard for satellite carrier identification

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) – often caused by improperly configured equipment or failed equipment – highly impacts Quality of Service for satellite operators and their customers. The new DVB Carrier ID (CID) standard provides a fast identification solution for non-malicious interference and applies to all digital modulated satellite signals. As a minimum the DVB-CID signal conveys a DVB-CID Global Unique Identifier (GUI), set by the equipment manufacturer, and the CID version number. Additionally it may contain user-configurable information that helps to locate and stop the interference quickly. The CID waveform is added to the Host Carrier signal and involves Differentially Encoded Binary Phase Shift Keying (DE-BPSK), spectral spreading, scrambling and a concatenated error protection strategy based on repetition, cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and Bose-ChaudhuriHocquenghem (BCH) coding. The CID signal is transmitted at a power level well below the Host Carrier power level and thus hardly impairs the Host Carrier service. Nevertheless, CID system provides for robust detection: the interferer can often be identified without switching the desired signal off, especially in the case of interference to a broadcast service. The paper describes the operational aspects in relation to the RFI, the commercial requirements developed by the DVB Commercial Module, the CID transmission system structure and performance aspects.