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Satellite Earth Station Frequency Engineering & Coordination
Engineering & Coordination Services You Can Rely On

Setting up and managing satellite earth stations involves complicated engineering principles and careful compliance with changing FCC regulations. Comsearch's experts provide unparalleled spectrum management and interference analysis expertise for your satellite earth stations, including:

• Site Selection
• System Design
• Interference Analysis
• Coordination and Case Resolution
• FCC Application Preparation
• Prior Coordination Renewal
• Analog-to-Digital Earth Station Conversion
• Satellite Consulting

Contact us for more information.

Find out more about our nine-step satellite earth station design process.

Site Selection

Comsearch will evaluate your site and provide expert solutions to achieve maximum system performance. For the site selection phase, our services include:

• Route Overlays
  We generate these overlays to provide a clear illustration of the interference environment.
  
• Preliminary Analysis
  We create a site-specific estimation of the potential for interference.
  
• Site Surveys
  Our team of engineers can assist in an office study to determine satellite arc clearance. Alternatively, we can send an experienced field engineer to survey the site and determine exact site location coordinates, verify satellite arc clearance, and record the azimuth and elevation of all obstacles on the horizon for subsequent use in interference case resolution.
  

System Design

Comsearch has the in-house expertise to perform earth station system design engineering, including link analysis, earth station systems design, and specifications generation. Our experienced engineers can assist in the development and evaluation of your Request for Proposal (RFP). We can assist in earth station commissioning, acceptance testing, and proof of performance testing. Our design services include:

• Requirements and Specification Design and Analysis
  
• Project Management Support
  
• Project Analysis
  
• PDR/CDR Support
  
• Test Plan/Procedure Development and Execution Support
  

Interference Analysis

Comsearch is the industry leader in microwave RF interference prediction. No other firm offers the combination of frequency engineering experience and expertise, industry leadership, quality software and comprehensive databases that Comsearch does. Our interference analysis services include:

• Computer Modeling
  Comsearch's proprietary interference analysis software considers such factors as antenna height, antenna sidelobe performance, terrain, modulation, path orientation, transmit power density, and receiver noise threshold.

• Interference Objective Calculation
  We perform an evaluation to determine the maximum permissible level of interference acceptable for proper earth station operation. This criterion is then used in the calculation of all potential interference cases involving terrestrial microwave systems.

• Engineering Documentation
  We create a detailed interference analysis report including a summary of all potential interference cases, a listing of available spectrum, and recommendations on requirements to clear additional spectrum, if necessary, or proceed with frequency coordination and licensing.

Coordination and Case Resolution

Earth stations operating in shared bands subject to FCC Rule Part 25 require coordination. Comsearch plays a leading role in the development and refinement of prior coordination procedures through its active membership in the National Spectrum Managers Association (NSMA). Three steps make up coordination and case resolution:

• Notification
  Comsearch will circulate a Prior Coordination Notice (PCN) containing the technical parameters of your proposed earth station system to all existing and proposed licensees within your coordination contour and frequency band of operation. By FCC Rule, recipients are given 30 days to respond.
  


• Case Resolution
  Comsearch will receive and respond to any objections to your proposed system and will act as your technical liaison until all cases are resolved.
  


• FCC Documentation
  Upon successful completion of the prior coordination process, Comsearch will prepare documentation required to satisfy FCC Rule Part 25. This coordination final report exhibit is required upon submittal of your license application.
  

FCC Application Preparation

Comsearch can prepare and file your FCC license applications. We complete all technical portions of FCC Form 312. We include any technical exhibits, such as radiation hazard studies, and non-compliant antenna reports. Learn more about our FCC Application Filing Services

Prior Coordination Renewal

FCC rules state that a system must be applied-for, or licensed, within six months of the issuance of the Prior Coordination Notice. If a system has not been applied-for or licensed during this time, the "lifetime" of the coordination period can be extended an additional six months via a renewal notification of the system. Comsearch will track your PCN and notify you when a renewal is required. Should you elect to maintain the system, Comsearch will issue a prior coordination notice to "renew" your system for an additional six months.

We are experts at getting your service up and running without interference problems.

Learn more about how to design an earth station through Comsearch's Nine-Step Design Process.

Analog-to-Digital Earth Station Conversion

Television broadcasters with C-band satellite earth stations are beginning the conversion from analog to digital transmission. Potential interference is a critical, but often overlooked, facet of this conversion. To learn more about analog-to-digital interference issues, read Comsearch's article, Satellite Video Transmission and the Analog to Digital Conversion Process with a case study on a Broadcasting Network's C-band Satellite Earth Stations, dated May 7, 2001.

To assist broadcasters with this conversion, Comsearch offers engineering consulting services, interference analyses, and protection against future interference. Find out how we did it for Cox Communications, Inc. and Fox. We can identify potential problems and provide protection against future terrestrial microwave growth and emerging technology services in the C-band receive spectrum to ensure you receive clean satellite reception.

Many analog C-band downlink operators are discovering that previously clean satellite reception is no longer available after they convert from analog to digital mode. Degradation occurs because of lower interference tolerances of digital satellite signals. These signals may be compromised by terrestrial microwave traffic at 4 GHz, in-band harmonics from PCS or cellular transmitters, or out-of-band emissions from radars, microwave ovens, and other electronic equipment.

Comsearch can ensure your station delivers clean satellite reception to your customers by performing an interference analysis of your system, providing frequency coordination and FCC licensing support, and ensuring your frequency is protected via our protection services.

To this end, we have created a Digital Migration Service program consisting of three phases:

• Phase 1: Interference Analysis and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), utilizing the more stringent digital standards to determine whether potential interference conflicts are present, document actual receive levels, and identify any conflicts that may be present from in-band or out-of-band emitters.
  
• Phase 2: Frequency Coordination and FCC Licensing Support, coordinating your receive/only C-band antenna with existing or proposed users of the band and managing the FCC licensing process on your behalf.
  
• Phase 3: Frequency Protection, using the new digital standards to be certain that your facility does not experience interference in the future.

Contact us for more information about our Digital Migration Service program.

Special Satellite Consulting Services

Comsearch has the expertise to assist operators, users, and engineering firms with full-service satellite engineering consulting.

• Spectrum Sharing and Interference Analyses
  Assessment of shared band interference from and into satellite systems.
  
• Migration/Relocation Support Services
  Migration and relocation of terrestrial microwave paths.
  
• Network Performance and Optimization
  Voice quality assessment and gap-filler design.
  
• Gateway Earth Station Site Selection and Interference Analysis
  Analysis of current spectrum usage, interference conflicts, and licensing.
  
• Interference Mitigation Techniques
  Design and analysis of earth station shielding requirements.
  
• Interconnect Services
  Microwave path engineering analysis and measurements for backhaul from a gateway earth station to the local PSTN, etc.
  
• Technical Support for FCC Filings
  
• Radio Frequency Measurements
  

Download your Satellite Earth Station Coordination Request Form

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