March 4, 2008

Report: Satellite, WiMax Spectrum Sharing Not Compatible

The Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group has announced the formal findings of a field test on the compatibility of Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) and WiMAX services sharing the C-band spectrum. The test, conducted in the latter quarter of 2007, indicates that WiMax communications pose a significant interference threat to satellite signals transmitted in the C-band frequency.

The primary objective of the plan was to measure interference levels generated by fixed WiMAX transmissions into an FSS satellite receiving station. The method employed taking measurements of C/N (carrier/noise), I/N (interference/noise), BER (bit error rate), and spectrum plots of a satellite down link video channel.