Satellite IRG announces Olympic initiative

Satellite IRG (sIRG) has announced its first key initiative since the restructure. From an idea mooted some time ago, the organisation is now aiming to have the entire industry on board with carrier ID in time for the 2012 Olympics.

The initiative was announced during the WBU-ISOG event in Montreal last month and was met with a lot of support from the industry.

Such a large sporting event will of course mean a whole lot of additional satellite activity, with broadcasters from across the world descending on London to take feeds and send them via satellite to their home countries. And with so much activity, the risk of interference increases considerably, so too does the need to take measures to reduce it.

A number of equipment manufacturers throughout the industry are already on board and releasing products, which include carrier ID in either its NIT form or working with the new ID technology, with products to be released this year, from Comtech EF-Data.

“Now that we have solutions this is the time to strike and make that original idea a reality” commented Martin Coleman, Executive Director, sIRG. “If ever we needed a compelling reason to do something above and beyond to help the industry, surely the Olympics is it. Indeed, I believe that most broadcasters would be happy to ensure an uninterrupted service for their Olympics coverage.”

“One of the major problems experienced during events such as this is the deliberate undermining of transmissions, usually for political end,” added a statement. “Carrier ID won’t stop that happening, but it will give us the visibility to see the cause and get rid of the offending users before any real damage is done to the feed.”