Eutelsat, Intelsat and SES are spearheading efforts to guard against problems that could be caused by satellite interference at the Olympics.

With the London Games expected to generate over 2,000 hours of satellite coverage final preparations are underway for the implementation of carrier ID, a stamp on uplink signals that helps satellite operators to identify transmissions to their satellites.

Proposals for carrier ID were first revealed at the IBC trade show in Amsterdam last year.

A joint statement from Eutelsat, Intelsat and SES said: “This is the first phase of a long-term collaborative undertaking to implement carrier ID in order to further raise the bar of quality to our broadcast customers.” 

Satellite operatorshave already completed the process of adapting their earth station information tables to include carrier ID information so they can read, extract and interpret data.

And equipment manufacturers including Adtec Digital, Comtech EF Data, Ericsson, Fujitsu, IDC, Newtec and Vislink have developed new models and system upgrades for carrier ID use.

The scheme has also been supported by the World Broadcasting Unions International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG), the Global Vsat Forum (GVF) and the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (SIRG).

A joint statement from the trio of international associations said: Never before have broadcasters, satellite operators, uplinkers, and manufacturers collaborated to implement an initiative with the sole objective of improving the quality of satellite television services for millions of viewers.”