PISCATAWAY, N.J., Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Digital Intermediate Frequency Interoperability (DIFI) Consortium today announced the release of version 1.2.0 of the DIFI Standard, IEEE-ISTO Std 4900-2021: Digital IF Interoperability Standard, which delivers a significant improvement in the areas of sync and flow control over the previous version published in August 2022.

Version 1.2.0 adds a standard flow control mechanism, which frees up systems designers from proprietary data flow for buffer management and improves timing synchronization. These changes were enabled by a new Information Class (0x0002) and new Packet Classes 0x0002, 0x0003, 0x0005 and 0x0006. In addition, the documentation for version 1.2.0 has been restructured for clarity and expanded with a table of deviations from VITA49.2, on which the original DIFI standard was based.

Version 1.2.0 was developed by DIFI’s Specification Working Group, led by Chair Simon Swift of ETL Systems and Co-Chair John-Paul Szczenpanik of ALL.SPACE, and approved for release by vote of DIFI’s members and Board of Directors. It is available for download at www.dificonsortium.org/standards.

“The 1.2.0 version of the specification adds features that enables the DIFI standard to more effectively support high-value digital IF applications, creating further value for our members and the industry at large”, commented Stuart Daughtridge, Chairman of the DIFI Board of Directors and Vice President, Advanced Technology for Kratos.

About DIFI
The Digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) Interoperability Consortium, or DIFI, has created a standard that enforces interoperability on digital IF/RF technology. Digital IF was developed to overcome the limitations of analog systems but, today, vendor lock-in prevents it from delivering seamless interoperability and severely limits its adoption. A truly interoperable digital IF, on the other hand, will enable transformation to a virtualized ground segment, reducing the total cost of ownership and significantly boosting network and terminal agility and scalability. Compliance with the DIFI Standard will ensure that satellite ground segments can seamlessly adapt to rapidly changing space-layer payloads, orbits, and constellations. Ultimately, DIFI promises to elevate the resilience, performance, and capabilities of satellite networks and enable a digital transformation that integrates satellites seamlessly into the larger telecom, IT and GIS markets.

Contact:
Joni Sterlacci, Sr. Program Manager, j.sterlacci@ieee.org