The Road to
Interoperability

Space at the Speed of Software

8/11/2026

I recently read how T-Mobilsing tens of thousands of modem failures. CTIA and Ericsson announced AI-native RAN software that they said lifted spectrum efficiency by nearly 10% in U.S. trials and delivered downlink throughput gains of up to 15% versus legacy methods. Impressive numbers.

I don’t share that because of the AI angle, not entirely anyway. Instead, it’s all about speed. AI is only one factor that’s radically driving up the speeds at which satellite must learn to operate.

Here’s another.

I recently attended the Australian Space Forum: 2026 where Paul Solomon, Chief Technology Advisor at KBR, explained the first steps to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were a line of code. It began with a cyberattack on the Viasat and KA-SAT networks, causing tens of thousands of modem failures and cutting military and government communications.

Necessary reaction times were slashed, a trend that has been ongoing. According to Solomon, citing a Mandiant report, "Time-to-Exploit Trends," the mean number of days to exploit a cyber vulnerability has gone down from 63 in 2018 to just 5 in 2023. Worse yet, Solomon said that starting in 2026 exploitations now typically begin before a patch even exists.

Speed matters.

There are other drivers: cloud enablement, network resiliency and more, all with one thing in common: software. Networks must learn to react at the speed of software. Hardware just can’t keep up, adapt or mend fast enough.

What does this mean for satellite? Well, when your two biggest customer blocs, defense and commercial comms, are both moving in the same direction, following would be a pretty good idea. The further behind we fall, the harder it will be to ever catch up.

According to Nokia CTO Pallavi Mahajan, “Our fundamental thinking behind AI-RAN was let’s decouple hardware from software.” Going on to say that prior to this, “if we were to talk of spectral efficiency, we would have said, ‘I’m going to develop custom silicon which will provide 20%, 30%, 40% spectral efficiency.’ But we are not saying that we will do that. Now we are saying you know what? Nokia today provides you 20 to 25 percent spectral efficiency,” she said, adding that by the end of 2027, “we’ll provide you 50% spectral efficiency. By the end of 2028, we’ll provide you 100% spectral efficiency. And in none of these conversations are we asking our customers to go about and upgrade their hardware.”

The need to move to standard compute for network hardware is no longer a debate. Our customers are already beginning to demand it because they need to move at the speed of software. Can we react at speed?

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Is the Virtualization Debate Over? In the Broader Network World It Is

7/14/2026

In a recent piece in Fierce Network, Joe Madden, principal analyst at Mobile Experts, came to a straightforward conclusion: “the industry is on a path toward higher value for connectivity.”

I agree, and that path is being driven by factors including cloud, 5/6G, AI, IoT, sovereignty goals and others that are all united in a software approach to networks.

As usual, the much larger terrestrial operators are ahead of the space industry on this. “Mobile network software is quickly becoming a stand-alone business that is not tied to hardware,” wrote Madden. “We’ve all heard this train coming into the station for several years, as operators have fully tested vRAN and are ready to use vRAN in the 6G cycle.”

When it comes to open networking in the ground segment, however, this time it looks increasingly like we space cowboys are reaching similar conclusions faster than we did in the past. More government space programs are inviting or specifying software-based solutions, most satellite execs I talk to are working it into their strategic plans and industry analysts are picking up the trend. In a recent white paper, research firm Novaspace noted, “Beyond the cost savings and ROI, virtualizing the ground is also a business necessity to enable agility, scalability and cost efficiency to unlock new revenue opportunities. Virtualization is seen as a key factor contributing to the projected $98 billion in cumulative spending on the ground segment through 2034.”

What has been happening in the mobile industry and is now accelerating with the maturity of vRAN and its role in 6G and AI enablement is also now becoming broadly accepted in the satellite ground segment as well. No surprise, since we are all part of the same supply chain. With more connections to more AI-driven data centers, more and bigger clouds, more smart devices, more robots and just plain more time spent connected comes more opportunity for both terrestrial and satellite communications providers.

And the software-based nature of those network systems will cause profound changes on the business side. As Madden points out, for example, “Last week Ericsson released its ‘AI-in-RAN’ portfolio, which is essentially a software upgrade that operators will buy through an annual subscription. That’s an important development that shows the transformation of the RAN market, from a hardware business to a software business. Operators are now willing to accept a subscription-based pricing model.”

The same trends will drive the satellite industry, because as the satcom industry moves away from broadcast to IP transport, it is no longer a separate thing but is fast becoming just a part of the larger global infrastructure that also includes fiber, Wi-Fi and mobile. All part of the growing cloud of connectivity options that designers will use to create networks to meet specific needs based on the application.

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This Year’s DIFI PlugFest Comes with a Reality Check for Industry Tech

6/16/2026

As DIFI members begin to kick the tires on the new, more resilient version 1.3 of the standard, we’ll be especially focused on real-world conditions with typical traffic hurdles. Ultimately, it makes our takeaways more functional. That’s why DIFI PlugFest USA 2026 is adding a second test system, replicating a “live” end-to-end network complete with Layer 2 switching and satellite link emulation via host Keysight’s PROPSIM channel emulators.

That’s in addition to the main interoperability setup from PlugFest Europe25, where it was originally used to advance multi-vendor compatibility across the satellite ground segment. Together these systems will offer members and industry engineers our most immersive, hands-on environment yet in which to collaborate and test the interoperability of digital intermediate frequency (IF) technologies using version 1.2.1 or 1.3 of DIFI this time around.

Released in July 2025, version 1.3 significantly improves the process of establishing a link between two devices, and we’re hearing from multiple companies that want to demonstrate compatible capabilities or learn more about implementation efforts. This will be their first chance.

We’ll also be leveraging our newly ratified DIFI certification test procedures and evaluating interoperability profiles and test documents for the next phase. It’s no secret that military services like the Army want third-party certification, and this is the next step on the path to establishing a third-party test house.

Help shape the agenda by submitting your technologies for testing and discussion topics before the event at Keysight’s facilities in Santa Clara, California from Oct. 5-8.

We’re expecting record participation from international companies interested in contributing to our open, transparent process of troubleshooting bugs and different interpretations of the specification to make DIFI more robust. PlugFest also offers them greater exposure and confidence in their latest solutions.

One week later, the DIFI Consortium will reconvene in Rockville, Maryland for a full-day Digital Transformation of Satcom workshop as part of MILCOM 2026. We’ll focus on the use of digitization and virtualization in next-generation satcom systems and share the fresh results from PlugFest.

The satellite industry is increasingly connected as satcom networks evolve into multi-orbit, multi-band, hybrid architectures reliant on digital transformation to scale and interoperate for operational flexibility. That also means technologies are changing faster than ever, with these two events helping companies remain at the forefront.

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Software-based Systems are Driving Standards. And Vice Versa.

5/19/2026

It’s been wonderful to see the pace of acceptance of DIFI as the growing standard for satellite ground equipment. The driving factors are many, including the business opportunities created by interoperability and escape from proprietary vendor lock-in. That said, perhaps the greatest accelerator has been the widespread move toward ground segment virtualization.

According to a recent white paper from prominent research firm Novaspace entitled The Business Case for Virtual Ground: Quantifying the ROI Advantage, “Virtualization is seen as a key factor contributing to the projected $98 billion cumulative spending on the ground segment through 2034 (source: 2025 Novaspace Ground Segment Market Report),” adding “Virtualization is also critical to taking advantage of the largest revenue opportunities in the industry including 5G NTN to connect to terrestrial networks, software-defined satellites to deliver service on demand and multi-orbit constellations to provide service flexibility.”

Another recent white paper from research firm Analysys Mason, entitled “Meeting the Challenge of Starlink and the Mega-Constellations with Software Ground,” echoed the sentiment: “A fully virtualised, orchestrated ground segment will deliver high asset utilisation in multi-orbit, multi-vendor networks whilst maintaining a high quality of service.” The report adds, “An orchestrated, virtualised approach will be best for adopting interoperable networking standards such as DIFI, MEF Carrier Ethernet, TM Forum Open APIs and of course 5G NTN (non-terrestrial networks).”

Analysys Mason makes the additional point that “Virtual architecture provides the best route to supporting enhanced, interoperable services with 5G participation... Virtualized ground infrastructure is the ideal approach for satellite players to enter the 5G ecosystem and prepare for AI-native 6G.”

In the evolution to software-defined networks, DIFI and other standards become essential for a world that increasingly employs cloud-enabled, cloud-based, mobile and similarly distributed architectures, especially where speed to mission and resilience are critical needs, such as in defense applications. As Novaspace notes, “By standardizing on mainstream IT infrastructure, virtualized ground can draw on diverse supply chains, technological progress and third-party applications in the much larger IT and telecom partner ecosystem.”

The Novaspace paper includes models that quantify the ROI of virtual ground using generic, off-the-shelf platforms for running virtualized components such as modems and without the need for hardware accelerators. Some of their numbers are below, and they are striking. The key is escaping proprietary hardware in favor of industry standards for network elements.

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Certifiable

4/21/2026

Some important news for organizations manufacturing, using or contemplating DIFI standard-based equipment: The certification program for the DIFI 1.1 specification has been approved by the working group and is now going through board approval.

Why is this so important? Because it will further enable recognizable confidence that the equipment will perform according to standard. It will also enable third-party certifications, thus creating even wider confidence by supporting independent test houses.

While attending the 41st Space Symposium earlier this month it was compelling to see so many companies promoting virtual ground equipment. While employing the DIFI standard is markedly beneficial for both software and hardware components, it’s in the virtualized and cloud environments where the interoperability benefits of digital IF and DIFI really shine.

And for the folks I saw exhibiting at the Symposium (the largest industry event focused on defense and intelligence applications) it will help them reply to the continuing uptick in defense-related RFPs we’ve seen specifying DIFI compliance.

Incidentally, for future DIFI standard releases, certification will be defined against feature sets, such as flow control, rather than release version numbers. This will make it easier to specify, use and manage compliance. Instead of just asking for the latest release, which might have features or capabilities not required for a given use case, you will be able to specify the exact features needed.

Details are coming, and you can stay current by following us on LinkedIn.

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Making Gateways More Resilient

3/24/2026

Recently an SES gateway in Israel was hit by a missile, targeted as part of the war in Iran. According to Space News, SES said “a small portion of the geostationary antenna field was damaged, adding that no injuries were reported and the impact did not affect the main facility at Emek Ha’ela.”

While I’m not privy to global intelligence on these things, this is the first time I can remember hearing about a commercial ground station being targeted physically, especially by missiles.

In fact, it turns the standard attack narrative on its head just a bit. Usually, we think about the ground segment being targeted by cyber and jamming threats, while missiles have been more of a growing concern as kinetic attacks on satellites in the space segment.

Either way, one point is clear: threats against satellite connectivity are growing as our reliance on those satellites deepens. Which is why both defense and commercial organizations are increasingly concerned about the resiliency of these networks.

That’s one reason why the defense sector has been so active in standards efforts including DIFI. In a nutshell: standards-based distributed, virtualized and cloud-enabled systems are more adaptable and reactive to disasters than hardware. It was one of the key motivations behind the Internet, to create a survivable global network even if large parts of the network were to fail.

How does DIFI come into play? By digitizing analog signals at or close to the antenna, data and communications can quickly be transferred for processing anywhere. Instead of being chained to a vulnerable, damaged or destroyed local gateway, processing is shifted to any devices that can handle data conforming to the DIFI standard. In addition, signals can be shifted to antennas at other gateways that are able to connect with the satellite in play, all contributing to far higher levels of operational resilience.

In addition, operations can be reconstituted faster since DIFI-based elements can be obtained more quickly from multiple vendors. That’s true for hardware components, and even more rapidly for virtualized software elements that can be downloaded instead of being shipped and installed.

5G NTN will add another layer of resiliency when it comes into widespread use, potentially allowing operations to roll over beyond antennas and gateways as well as between satellites and even networks.

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