What is VSAT ?

VSAT is short for very small aperture terminal. This is a satellite earth station (dish) with a small antenna - typically between 0.8 to 2.4 meters in diameter, as opposed to up to 10 meters for other satellite dishes. VSAT is an efficient method to distribute decent amounts of bandwidth (max of 20 Mbit/s, usually 512 kbit/s or even 256 kbit/s, depending on the provider) to a large area with low population density, or where wires do not exist (e.g. hilly areas, dense forest, etc). The return channel is usually much slower than the downlink, typically between 10 kbit/s to 76 kbit/s. With certain non-DVB VSAT systems, up to 8 Mbit/s uplink can presently be realized. In the near future, even higher speeds - up to 45 Mbit/s - will become attainable. VSAT can be set up very fast, and finds applications in disaster areas where communication infrastructure has been extensively damaged. In connection with Wifi (and future WiMax) cells, large areas with an underdeveloped infrastructure can be supplied quickly with telephony and broadband Internet services. VSAT is commonly used for point of sale transactions including credit cards and RFID applications such as Mobil Speedpass. There are over 100,000 gas stations and lotteries in the United States alone that use VSAT. VSAT usually provides a bi-directional data-stream, using either DVB(DVBRCS,DVB-RCS2,DVB-RCS MPEG2 - each is optimized for different applications), or non- DVB standards. High-end high data-rate VSAT equipment, as used by offshore-oil companies and some military units, is typically non-DVB. Typical applications include multicasting video-streams, radio and TV channels, as well as Internet in areas without proper internet services.

DVB Technology DVB Technology Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) is a satellite-based standard that was primarily designed to use in broadcast video applications. The standard has been widely adopted due to its simplicity, easily available chipsets, and cost. DVB based technology is widely deployed and understood by most network operators. DVB was primarily designed for one way broadcast of video and MPEG traffic. Recently a new standard DVB-RCS (Return Channel via Satellite) was completed to allow for a standard based return channel for two-way traffic. The intent of the open standard is to accelerate economies of scale, thereby generating lower-cost solutions and opening the market in a shorter timeframe than could be possible with competing proprietary solutions. DVB standard for the forward or broadcast channel has the following technical characteristics, - MPEG frame for transporting video and data - RSV (ReedSolomon Viterbi) based Forward Error Correction - Very high bandwidth on the outbound DVB-RCS standard has the following characteristics, - TDMA based inroutes - MPEG frame for transporting data - Also supports ATM cells for transporting data DVB standard based systems interoperate well on the outbound channel between different vendor equipment. DVB-RCS for the return channel is another

story. The standard only provides for the basic interoperability between different vendors. For any enhanced services, the interoperability is lacking to say the least. The standard does not guarantee basic interoperability (e.g. TDMA slot sizes, # of inroutes, hopping vs. static frequencies, frame sizes, code rates are all variable). In theory two vendors could design infinitely adjustable implementations of the specification. In reality, they would have to actively engage each other and support a set of interoperable modes. Advantages of DVB based system High bandwidth outbound or broadcast Designed and built for Video Broadcast Lower Cost of Remote Terminals Disadvantages of DVB based system Generally Power-Limited satellite requirement Very inefficient use of transponder capacity Not designed for TCP/IP traffic. IP is encapsulated within MPEG Very high Hub equipment cost Advantages of DVB-RCS based system Potential interoperability between multiple vendors Potentially lower cost of modems Disadvantages of DVB-RCS based system Interoperability between multiple vendors limits functionality Typically implemented with RSV FEC which is not very efficient TDMA protocol used is typically slotted-aloha Non-DVB standard system: The Multi-Star Alternative to Mesh Some bespoke VSAT systems target the high end of the broadband market. Small, private networks use all three VSAT solutions to deliver broadband services such as WAN Connectivity for Intranet Access Web Surfing and Internet Access Electronic Mail Broadband Content Collection and Delivery Real Time Applications like Voice and Video The conventional wisdom in the VSAT industry is that star VSAT and mesh VSAT occupy orthogonal market niches. The reality is that the overwhelming majority of mesh VSAT systems are deployed in multi-star networks and small star topology networks where the cheap hubs of the mesh VSAT minimize the

overall cost of the network. Unlike the old star terminals whose hubs cost $250,000 or more, a Non-DVB standard system can be more affordable in multi-star and small star networks because Non-DVB standard system offers hubs priced like high-end DVB System and remotes. Once it becomes affordable, a small star topology system more desirable than a mesh system because the star system is easier to implement and maintain. Mesh networks are notoriously difficult to configure due to their complex routing tables, which are labor intensive to define and to update. Furthermore, Non-DVB standard system is more bandwidth efficient than any mesh VSAT. For broadband applications where satellite bandwidth makes up more than half the total lifetime cost of ownership, Non-DVB standard system minimizes monthly operating costs. The market has voted with its dollars overwhelmingly in favor of Non-DVB standard system. Thousands of Non-DVB standard system terminals are sold every year compared to only hundreds of DVB System or terminals. Whereas sales of DVB System and units have stabilized or declined in recent years, sales of Non-DVB standard system units have grown exponentially. Network operators trust in Non-DVB standard systems many advantages over DVB System and , such as

Less Expensive Remotes Smaller Antennas Faster Speeds Greater Aggregate Network Capacity Greater Bandwidth Efficiency Superior Traffic Management and QoS Non-DVB standard system will even adapt on short notice to accommodate uncommon needs like Mesh Connectivity Plug and Play Voice Lines Legacy Data Protocols Non-DVB standard systems standard 5IF Hub Chassis and its standard 1IF Hub Chassis both hold up to 20 Universal Line Cards (ULC) apiece. Each ULC can act as a modem, a modulator, or a demodulator. The carriers generated by the line cards enable the Non-DVB standard system hub to talk to a variety of Non-DVB standard system remote terminals. As in all star topology systems, the remote terminals only talk back to the hub. Each carrier in Non-DVB standard systems forward channel transmits at speeds

from 128 kbit/s up to 9.1 Mbit/s. So, one Non-DVB standard system Hub can deliver 128 kbit/s to 182 Mbit/s of forward channel capacity. In the return channel, Non-DVB standard system has demodulators that operate between 64 kbit/s and 4.2 Mbit/s. So the aggregate return channel capacity of a standard Non-DVB standard system hub can be as much as 84 Mbit/s. In reality, no network operator has ever needed the full 182 Mbit/s forward channel or the full 84 Mbit/s return channel that a standard Non-DVB standard system hub is capable of providing. The backplane of Non-DVB standard systems 1IF Hub Chassis combines the output of all line cards in that chassis onto one L-band intermediate frequency (IF) chain. All line cards in a 1IF Hub Chassis share a common frequency reference. The 1IF Hub Chassis is typically used to build networks with more than four return channels for each forward channel. Such networks tend to be very large and very asymmetric shared hubs. The backplane of Non-DVB standard systems 5IF Hub Chassis is split into 5 sections, each of which can hold up to 4 line cards. Each section resides in an independent L-band intermediate frequency (IF) chain. So Non-DVB standard systems carriers can reside on as many as 20 different transponders on as many as 5 different satellites. The 5IF Hub is typically used to build a series of small, independent networks co-located at one teleport. For small, truly independent, private networks, Non-DVB standard system offers its Private Hub and its Mini Hub. These smaller hubs contain one and only one modem. The satellite networks built upon these smaller hubs have only one TDM carrier for downstream traffic and one TDMA carrier for upstream traffic. The appeal of these smaller hubs is that they can be as much as an order of magnitude less expensive than Non-DVB standard systems 5IF Hub. The difference between the Private Hub and the Mini Hub is that the Private Hub supports an unlimited number of remotes whereas hardware limitations in the Mini Hub restrict it to networks with no more than 15 to 30 remotes. The System Architecture for DVB System and The DVB System VSAT from ND SatCom and the VSAT from ViaSat are remarkably similar products. The DVB System and systems are mesh topology, packet switched, reservation TDMA VSAT networks. The Advantages of the Non-DVB standard system VSAT System Less Expensive Remotes Although Non-DVB standard system, DVB System, and are used for similar applications, they differ from each other in terms of price. DVB System terminals are priced from $12,500 to $25,000. terminals sell for $7,500 to $15,000 apiece. Non-DVB standard systems remote terminals range in price

from $1,500 to $6,000. Even large networks with thousands of sites are affordable at Non-DVB standard systems prices. More importantly, small networks can significantly improve their chances of growing to become large networks by adopting Non-DVB standard systems less expensive remotes. The price of remote terminals is critical because it is the single largest barrier to entry for new subscribers. Smaller Antennas One of the major reasons why DVB System and remotes are so much more expensive than Non-DVB standard system remotes is that DVB System and almost always have to use bigger antennas and more powerful transmitters than Non-DVB standard system would need at the same sites. Non-DVB standard system only needs a big antenna at the hub because it settles for a star topology that tolerates small antennas at the remotes. The price that DVB System and pay for mesh connectivity is their need for bigger antennas at all remotes. Traditional mesh VSAT do not necessarily need bigger antennas and transceivers (so called outdoor units or ODU) than star VSAT. However, the unique way in which DVB System and have implemented mesh connectivity does necessarily dictate larger ODU than star VSAT would need under similar circumstances. DVB System and achieve an indefinitely large number of simultaneous mesh channels using only one modem in each remote by forcing a single reservation TDMA carrier to both transmit and receive information at the same time. In the network architecture employed by DVB System and , the transmit carrier is the receive carrier for a remote. For DVB System and , a VSATs transmitter bursts data out at the exact same speed that the VSAT receives data in. The ODU (outbound data unit, or transmitter) at every DVB System or site is sized for the combined transmit and receive speeds of the most heavily trafficked site in the network. The most heavily trafficked site is usually the hub. So every site in a DVB System or network has its ODU sized as if it were a hub with sufficient power to support on one carrier the aggregate forward and return channel traffic going through the entire hub! In contrast, the ODU of Non-DVB standard system remotes are sized to support only the maximum upstream speed of the one VSAT that needs the fastest return channel. Supporting one remotes upstream traffic requires far less ODU gain than supporting the aggregate throughput at the hub. The only time when a DVB System or remote antenna is equal in size to its Non-DVB standard system counterpart is when there is an equal amount of traffic going to and coming from every site as in voice trunks among cellular base stations. In normal networks where the remotes experience less traffic than the hub does,

DVB System and remotes are burdened with unnecessarily large ODU just because they need to access the exact same transmit/receive carrier as the hub. In other words, any DVB System or terminal that receives more information than it transmits is burdened with an unnecessarily large ODU. In normal broadband networks, most remote terminals receive far more information than they transmit. For common broadband applications like Internet access, the asymmetry can be as much as 10 bits for information received for every 1 bit of information transmitted. In asymmetric networks with high data rate downloads, DVB System and VSAT need antennas and transceivers that are several times the size of ODU required by Non-DVB standard system to do the same job because the receive carrier is the transmit carrier for all DVB System and remotes. Faster Speeds The need to contain remote terminal costs and ODU sizes forces DVB System and to implement much slower networks than their indoor units (IDU) are capable of supporting. DVB System modems support carriers as big as 8 Mbit/s and modems support carriers up to 6 Mbit/s. However, there are practical limitations that make carriers beyond 2 Mbit/s inordinately expensive to implement. On most satellites, the largest carrier that an affordable 1.8m antenna and 4W Ku-band ODU can support is 2 Mbit/s. Beyond 2 Mbit/s, DVB System and require 8W+ Ku-band transmitters that cost tens of thousands of dollars. They may also need 2.4m+ antennas that cost tens of thousands of dollars in civil engineering works to install. Worst yet, the expensive ODU have to be replicated at every site in a DVB System or network because all sites in that network transmit into and get information from the same carrier. So carriers beyond 2 Mbit/s are cost prohibitive to implement using DVB System or equipment. Non-DVB standard system remotes face the same economic constraints on the transmit side, but not on the receive side. Non-DVB standard system networks have one carrier for downstream traffic and a separate carrier for upstream traffic. The cost of Non-DVB standard systems receive side decreases as receive speed increases. At higher speeds, less expensive DRO LNB can replace expensive PLL LNB whose better phase noise is only needed to lock onto smaller carriers. On the other half of the modem, the cost of Non-DVB standard systems transmit side increases with transmit speed because transmit speed drives transmit radio power. Thus, the price of an Non-DVB standard system remote increases as the speed of its transmissions increases, but the price of an Non-DVB standard system

remote actually decreases as its receive speed increases. With 1.8m/4W Kuband ODU as the threshold of affordability, Non-DVB standard system systems can be trusted to deliver 9.1 Mbit/s downloads and 2 Mbit/s uplinks. Meanwhile, because they use the same carrier to both transmit and receive traffic, neither DVB System nor remotes can offer more than 2 Mbit/s of transmit speed and receive speed combined when staying within any reasonable budget. Greater Aggregate Network Capacity For normal networks where most of the traffic flows in a logical star, Non-DVB standard system offers far greater aggregate network capacity than DVB System or . Non-DVB standard systems forward channel capacity is limited to 9.1 Mbit/s by the maximum speed of one downstream carrier. The practical aggregate return channel capacity for an Non-DVB standard system network is at least 10 Mbit/s, assuming 20 TDMA carriers each operating at 512 kbit/s. In networks where most or all of the traffic travels through a de facto hub, the aggregate forward and return channel capacity of a DVB System or network is limited in theory by the maximum carrier sizes to 8 Mbit/s for DVB System and 6 Mbit/s for . In practice, the real limit is about 2 Mbit/s of forward and return channel capacity combined! Recall that the ODU at every remote has to be sized for the combined transmit and receive throughput of the most heavily trafficked site in a DVB System or network. This most heavily trafficked site is the hub when traffic flows mostly in a star topology. In this case, the ODU of all the remotes have to be sized like the ODU of the hub. The hub cannot be allowed to carry more than 2 Mbit/s of total traffic if the size of ODU at the remotes is to remain reasonable. DVB System and address their antenna size concerns, speed limitations, and aggregate network capacity constraints by offering an optional DVB overlay. The DVB carrier provides a 2 Mbit/s to 45 Mbit/s forward channel for economically shipping large volumes of traffic downstream from a hub. The DVB overlay frees the reservation TDMA carrier in a DVB System or network to carry mesh traffic and return channel traffic exclusively. With its responsibilities significantly reduced in scope, the TDMA carrier can be shrunk to the point where the ODU of remote terminals become reasonably priced. In effect, the DVB overlay creates very expensive versions of the SkyARCS and LinkStar DVB-RCS systems offered by ND SatCom and ViaSat respectively. The DVB overlay will not solve the terminal price problems that haunt DVB System and . A DVB overlay noticeably increases the price of hub infrastructure. Each DVB overlay costs about as much as the NMS for DVB System or . Adding just one DVB overlay effectively doubles the price of a DVB System or hub. For the small 5-10 site networks that DVB System and target, the DVB overlay shifts some costs from the remotes to the hub. However, it will

not reduce the overall cost of the network greatly with so few remotes over which to amortize the extra hub costs. For bigger networks with more than 10 sites, the $10,000 - $15,000 DVB System and indoor units (IDU) cannot compete against complete Non-DVB standard system VSAT that sell for as little as $2500 in small quantities. Furthermore, the DVB overlay introduces a few complications to DVB System and networks. First, the DVB overlay greatly increases the minimum scale of any network. Each DVB carrier operates at no less than 2 Msps. It consumes at least 2.5 MHz to deliver about 2 Mbit/s. So a fairly sizable anchor tenant is needed to alleviate market risks when a network operator expands into a new geographic area or a new frequency band using a DVB overlay. Second, instead of having a private network with dedicated bandwidth and dedicated equipment, end users will now likely have to time share portions of their network with other subscribers on the DVB forward channel. The risk of security breaches and other mishaps increases greatly in migrating from a truly private network to a shared public network. Finally, routing issues become more complex with multiple paths for getting from one site to another. External routers will probably have to be added to every site in the network because the native routing capabilities of DVB System and are primitive. The additional labor to configure and maintain these external routers may also add to the recurring cost of operating a DVB System or network. Greater Bandwidth Efficiency Relative to Non-DVB standard system, the recurring costs of operating DVB System and networks are bad enough without additional complications. In a star topology network, Non-DVB standard systems forward channel is two to three times as bandwidth efficient as the receive side of a DVB System or VSAT. Non-DVB standard systems forward channel uses Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) to combine together traffic destined for many different remotes. For downstream traffic in a normal star topology network, the Non-DVB standard system VSAT is not burdened by the time and frequency guard bands inherent in the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) algorithm that DVB System and employ to achieve mesh connectivity. Furthermore, Non-DVB standard system employs Turbo Codes that are far more bandwidth efficient than the ReedSolomon Viterbi codes found in standard DVB System and VSAT. For broadband applications where satellite bandwidth constitutes more than half of the lifetime cost of ownership, Non-DVB standard system offers a 50% to 65% reduction in forward channel bandwidth costs relative to standard DVB System and VSAT. (DVB System now offers an optional Turbo Code upgrade. Even with Turbo Codes, DVB System is still 10% to 25% less efficient than Non-DVB standard system in star topology networks because DVB System uses TDMA instead of TDM to send traffic downstream.)

Not only does Non-DVB standard system have a more efficient forward channel, but Non-DVB standard system also has a more efficient return channel than DVB System or . As with the forward channel, the Turbo Codes in Non-DVB standard systems return channel are 40% more bandwidth efficient than the Reed-Solomon Viterbi codes used by DVB System and . Its more efficient return channel enables Non-DVB standard system to collect information from a set of remote terminals into a central site at a much lower cost than DVB System or can offer. Incidentally, the extra coding gain in Non-DVB standard systems Turbo Codes need not necessarily be used to improve Non-DVB standard systems bandwidth efficiency. Instead, the extra gain can be used to support smaller, less expensive radio transmitters and antennas than those required by DVB System or at any equal return channel speed. Where desired, an Non-DVB standard system VSAT can use a 30% smaller antenna than DVB System or can to support the same transmit rate. Non-DVB standard system remote terminals are thus easier to carry into the field for use as data collection devices. Superior Traffic Management and QoS Above the physical layer, the Non-DVB standard system system includes a set of advanced traffic management features that its competitors cannot match. Non-DVB standard system and come with network level software to route traffic and to prioritize packets for the purpose of ensuring Quality of Service (QoS). An Non-DVB standard system system behaves as if it is one router with a port located at each site. A system behaves in a similar manner. All traffic in the system is placed into one pool, sorted by priority, queued up, and then routed appropriately. The data rate of every path in the system changes dynamically in real time to accommodate constantly changing traffic patterns. The DVB System system, on the other hand, is utterly lacking in any routing capability. A DVB System network is conceptually nothing more than a fixed set of fixed data rate circuits. Customers have complained that only a DVB System engineer can add a new site to an existing DVB System network. DVB Systems routing tables are so complex and unwieldy that making even small changes to a DVB System network is extremely labor intensive. DVB System depends on external routers at every site to perform layer 3 networking functions that are built into Non-DVB standard system and systems. DVB System manages traffic only at the edges of its wide area network (WAN). Once a packet enters a DVB System circuit, the packet is statically routed along predefined paths that run at predefined speeds. In contrast, Non-DVB standard system and shape the traffic flows before and after the traffic enters their wide area networks. Packet / TCP Acceleration

Despite many similarities in the way Non-DVB standard system and manage traffic, there is still one big difference between non-DVB standard system, particularly at the networking layer. Non-DVB standard system terminals include software to compensate for the harmful effects of sending acknowledged TCP traffic through long latency satellite links. Without TCP acceleration, data rates are limited to less than 100 kbit/s for each and every TCP session. File transfers, downloads from the Internet, and emails move slowly through a system when compared to an Non-DVB standard system system that comes with built-in TCP acceleration. One DVB VSAT system uses external TCP acceleration software to compensate for its inadequacies. However, external acceleration software is only half as efficient as internal TCP acceleration software in networks where the size of each WAN pipe is constantly changing. Non-DVB standard systems internal acceleration software can accelerate TCP sessions back up to line rates because Non-DVB standard systems NMS explicitly tells its acceleration software what the line rate is at any moment in time. The NMS does not tell any external accelerator what the line rate is at any moment in time. On s shared TDMA carrier where the line rate allocated to any site is constantly changing, the external TCP accelerator pushes packets out at the average network capacity that it senses. However, external acceleration software cannot sense changes in capacity assignments fast enough to take full advantage of all the capacity assigned to a site. Any external TCP accelerator will also drop and have to retransmit packets when it tries to send too much data into a pipe that has collapsed before the accelerator detects the reduction in assigned capacity. Although they can push TCP sessions beyond 100 kbit/s through a satellite link, external TCP accelerators top out at a small fraction of the line rate. Incidentally, DVB System does not suffer any of non-dvbs problems with external TCP accelerators because the size of DVB System circuits are fixed. However, any external appliance be it a TCP accelerator for or a router for DVB System is labor intensive to manage. Non-DVB standard system has integrated control of all its routing software and all its TCP acceleration software into its Network Management System. All aspects of an Non-DVB standard system network can be managed centrally. Centralized configuration and management of network policies make Non-DVB standard system networks far simpler to operate than DVB System and networks performing the same functions. How Non-DVB standard system Satisfies Uncommon Needs Mesh Connectivity There are a few features in the DVB System and systems which are not available in the Non-DVB standard system system today. One such feature is mesh connectivity. Non-DVB standard system is currently developing mesh connectivity. The Non-DVB standard system hardware to enable mesh

connectivity will be available in March of 2005. The software to implement mesh connectivity will be released in July of 2005. If true mesh connectivity is really needed instead of just a multi-star network, a network operator can begin to roll out an Non-DVB standard system network in March of 2005 knowing that the Non-DVB standard system hardware by that time will only need a software upgrade to become a full mesh network. By the middle of 2005, Non-DVB standard system will field a mesh solution that is far less expensive to implement and to operate than either DVB System or can offer. For at least a few more months though, one advantage of DVB System and terminals over an Non-DVB standard system VSAT is that the former can talk directly with any other terminals in the same network without going through a hub. For traffic from one remote to another, mesh connectivity halves the latency of satellite communications down to about 250 milliseconds. This quarter second of delay is virtually undetectable in voice calls and videoconferences, whereas the 500 millisecond latency of a double hopped voice call is easier for end users to notice. Fortunately for Non-DVB standard system, end users experience degraded call quality only 5% of the time without mesh connectivity. Traffic studies show that phone calls in mesh networks are routed through the hub 95% of the time. Only 5% of the time does one end user directly call another remote terminal. So the bandwidth cost savings associated with mesh connectivity are negligible. Given the small number of mesh calls, a network operator will save less than 2.5% on bandwidth by using mesh VSAT instead of star topology VSAT. Mesh connectivity only has value if a service provider can get subscribers to pay more money for 250 milliseconds less latency in the 5% of voice calls that occur between two remotes. If end users will not pay extra for slightly better call quality in 1 out of 20 voice calls, the financial value of mesh connectivity may not justify its extra hardware and maintenance costs. The unique mesh architecture of DVB System and make these systems less expensive than star topology systems for bandwidth intensive data communications among peer LAN. For DVB System or to cost less than NonDVB standard system, these LAN have to be true peers. No one central LAN should be sending or receiving significantly more information than the others. In such a scenario, DVB System and would be executing single hops where Non-DVB standard system would have to execute mostly double hops that consume twice as much bandwidth. Fortunately for Non-DVB standard system, it is very rare for the endpoints of a WAN to consist of peer LAN. The only time this happens is when large corporations tie large campuses together in a WAN. Since large campuses tend to sit near fiber optic cables, there is limited demand for WAN connectivity via satellite among peer LAN the forte of DVB System and .

Plug and Play Voice Lines DVB System and feature built-in voice services that Non-DVB standard system must add external appliances to support. Individual telephones and telephone trunk lines can be plugged directly into the remote terminals of DVB System and networks. These products support voice, fax, and data services with a variety of analog and digital interfaces. They also offer several voice compression options and fax data rates. One Non-DVB standard system IDU has no voice interfaces, and is strictly an IP platform. One Non-DVB standard system adds external Voice over IP (VoIP) equipment at every site where voice is needed. The Non-DVB standard system remotes get VoIP phones or VoIP adapters. Each Non-DVB standard system hub needs a VoIP gateway to access the PSTN. Nonetheless, the Non-DVB standard system does come with many built-in features to improve the quality of VoIP calls on the network. Furthermore, one Non-DVB standard system prioritizes voice calls over data traffic at a network level to complete 3 times as many phone calls in the busy hour as DVB System or can with the same bandwidth. Legacy Data Protocols The more expensive versions of include integrated support for IP, ISDN, Frame Relay, and ATM. Most DVB System IDU internally support Frame Relay and IP. Non-DVB standard systems need an external protocol converter at every site to support any protocol beyond IP. External protocol converters sell for $500 to $1500, depending on quantities and features. Despite their ability to interface with some legacy protocols, DVB Systems will also use external protocol converters from time to time. There are so many legacy protocols that it is impossible for any single appliance to support them all. Every VSAT system needs external protocol converters occasionally. and DVB Systems simply need external protocol converters less frequently than a Non-DVB standard system does.