DIFI’s recently formed Electronically Steerable Antennas (ESA) Working Group is just getting started, but members are already making great progress on Stage One of their effort, accounting for the variety of use cases and network environments that need to be covered. It’s a complex problem; you could say a one-to-many problem.
Across consumer services, enterprise apps and defense readiness, the applications for ESAs are compelling, including some of today’s most-discussed needs such as mobility, multi-orbit and multi-mission support.
That “multi” nature is the biggest complicating factor, though not the only one.
ESAs represent a tremendous leap forward in dynamic functionality over traditional parabolics, which are designed to perform one function in static environments. That’s why the first step to expanding the existing Monitor and Control (M&C) standards to support ESAs is to determine how many unique uses in how many unique environments are needed to support how many types of users.
For example, the simplest type of use case would be enabling the traditional kind of connectivity used with parabolic antennas; that is, one modem endpoint to one antenna endpoint. Even here, a well-defined use case in the existing standards for parabolics, there are some unique aspects to ESAs that must be considered to get the full value of the ESA’s capabilities.
From there, use cases fall into at least five more “types,” starting with many modem endpoints to one antenna endpoint. This is the beginning solution for the much sought-after multi-orbit scenario. But it’s not the most advanced multi orbit scenario since it would not allow simultaneous multi-orbit connectivity. Doing that requires a different model: many dynamic modem endpoints connected to many dynamic antenna endpoints. In addition to simultaneous GEO/MEO/LEO connectivity, that scenario provides the resiliency expected for military operations.
Start adding mobility support into the equation and new factors arise. For example, what happens when your car enters a tunnel? Aero and maritime mobility bring similar unique factors.
A lot of very smart people are working on these issues for their own products and solutions; however, to achieve the kind of service we have come to rely upon from our smart phones—not to mention their ubiquity—will require industry standards implemented across antennas, modems and even M&C systems. The ESA Working Group includes many of those smart people from organizations across the supply chain to solve this problem at scale, from antenna makers to satellite operators to government end users. To join the effort, visit https://dificonsortium.org/join-now/
