Digital Interface Standards Working Group Spearheads SATCOM Industry Initiative for Development of Open Standard

01/09/2021

Group issues a rallying call to community to replace L-band IF, paving the way for interoperability, improved performance and costs

Herndon, VA, September 1, 2021: The Digital Interface Standards Working Group (DIS), has invited the satellite communications (SATCOM) community to collaborate on the development of an open interoperability standard for the SATCOM industry. The standard will enable all manufacturers to build interoperable technologies that work in both open and closed network topologies, delivering the most advantages at the lowest cost.

There are various requirements driving the need for an open standard. They include demand for higher throughput and the availability of more satellite bandwidth; the need to deploy and manage networks on a much larger scale; more flexible utilization of bandwidth and the use of higher-order modulations to improve bandwidth efficiency. The traditional analog L-Band modem to RF interface is currently impeding these goals.

Digitizing the interface between modem and RF components using the new open standard, the industry will be able to leverage the latest virtualization, cloud computing and network function virtualization technologies as well as greatly improve the performance and scale of satellite hub, gateway and modem equipment.

In order to make such an interface practical for the industry, interoperability and standardization is key. The Digital Interface Standards Working Group will oversee the creation of the new standard. Current DIS participants include Communications & Power Industries (CPI), DataPath, Datum Systems, Gilat Satellite Networks, SES, ST Engineering iDirect and Wavestream.

In an open letter to the SATCOM industry, the DIS has detailed the work that has already been completed towards an open standard and opens up participation to the wider SATCOM industry. The open letter may be viewed here.

For more information on the DIS, please contact Jim Rosenberg jim.rosenberg@wavestream.com.

Media Contacts:

Julie Bettinger

Vice President Marketing

ST Engineering iDirect

Phone: 1 703 727 7588

Email: jbettinger@idirect.net

Amanda Mogin

Vice President, Administration & Communications

Communications & Power Industries LLC

Phone: 1 650 846-3998

Email: amanda.mogin@cpii.com

Suzanne Ong

SES

Vice President, External Communications

Phone. 352 710 725 500

Email: suzanne.ong@ses.com

Doreet Oren

Senior Director, Solutions Marketing & Corporate Communications

Gilat Satellite Networks

Email: doreeto@gilat.com

Phone: 972 3 925 2472

Tom Cox

Vice President, Business Development & Sales

Wavestream

Phone: 1 909 599 9080

Email: tom.cox@wavestream.com

David Koblinski

President

Datum Systems Inc.

Phone: 1 480 558 5500

Email: dkoblinski@datumsystems.com

Jimene Conn

Marketing Manager

DataPath

Phone: 1 470-261-2706

Email: Jimene.Conn@datapath.com

LINK:	https://www.idirect.net/news/digital-interface-standards-working-group...
	See more stories from newtec

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026