Digital Intermediate Frequency Interoperability (DIFI) Consortium

Why is the United States Department of Defense interested and invested in Digital IF moving forward?

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MILCOM 2024 DIFI WORKSHOP

Digital Transformation of SATCOM

Call for Presentations, Posters & Demos

28 October 2024 – Washington, DC

DIFI Members – As we prepare for the 2024 DIFI Workshop at MILCOM 2024, we anticipate your participation! Would you have something unique to share about working with DIFI and contributing to the virtualized SATCOM applications that are redefining our industry? This includes new flat panel antennas that offer the promise of advanced capabilities such as multi-orbit, multi-beam, and multi-band capabilities. If so, we encourage you to submit an abstract for a presentation, demonstration or poster at the 2024 DIFI Workshop.

MORE INFO AND REGISTRATION

DIFI PlugFest 2024 Europe

Plug & Play Digital IF. We’re Getting There

DIFI held its second PlugFest June 17-21, 2024 and our first in Europe at Satellite Applications Catapult’s Harwell campus in the U.K.

For those not familiar with the nitty gritty of standards development, a PlugFest is an event to validate the effectiveness of a technology standard by testing how well devices from different manufacturers interoperate. Standards bodies like DIFI hold PlugFests periodically, especially when a new rev of the standard has been released. For DIFI, that’s DIFI 1.2 introduced last September. Members congregated at PlugFest Europe to test compatibility with that release as well as version 1.1 functions.

Our Mission

The mission of the Digital Intermediate Frequency Interoperability (DIFI) Consortium is to enable the digital transformation of space, satellite, and related industries by providing a simple, open, interoperable Digital IF/RF standard that replaces the natural interoperability of analog IF signals and helps prevent vendor lock-in. A truly interoperable digital IF will enable transformation to a virtualized ground segment, reducing the total cost of ownership and significantly boosting network and terminal agility and scalability.

About DIFI

IEEE-ISTO Std 4900-2021: Digital IF Interoperability Standard, v1.2.0 – August 2023

The data plane interface provides the ability to transmit and receive digitized IF data and corresponding metadata over standard IP networks. This interface is meant to be fully compliant with the VITA 49.2 standards. To download the Standard, please complete the contact form below.

Download the Standard

Membership

The newly formed consortium is in the process of implementing administrative structures and recruiting additional member companies and organizations with an interest in space networks to become active participants in DIFI. Please review the Governing Documents and join now!

Join DIFI

Electronically-steered flat-panel antennas (ESAs) are on a clear evolutionary path from high-cost terminals for single-beam/single-use applications to increasingly affordable offerings, many with some combination of multi-beam, multi-band, and multi-orbit capabilities. Supporting these flexible antenna systems will drive demand for digital-based ground systems for signal routing and processing. The DIFI Consortium is taking up the challenge of setting up and managing services through these antennas in a way that will enable interoperability between antenna systems and digital ground systems.

If you would like to participate in this working group, please click the join button to be part of this exciting endeavor.