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Iridium Satellite LLC
Short Burst Data Developers Guide V2.01
7.2.2.2 K-Band Channel Security
To successfully monitor a K-band feeder link channel, a fairly sophisticated monitoring device must be
located in the general proximity of an Iridium gateway. The receiver must have a high-gain antenna capable
of tracking SVs as they move from horizon to horizon.
Again, the complexity of the feeder link interface poses a formidable technical challenge for prospective
eavesdroppers. The cost of the monitoring device alone would be a strong deterrent. Among the technical
complications are
� Large, continually changing Doppler shifts
� High capacity, 3.072 Mbps channels
� High-gain tracking antenna required
� Must reacquire new SV every 10 minutes
7.2.3 Gateway to Vendor Application
While this document focuses on the Iridium network, security should be looked at from an end-to-end
solution perspective. SBD communications to and from the Iridium Gateway can be protected by two
additional cost items:
(A) Virtual Private Network and/or
(B) Private leased line communication
7.2.4 Additional Considerations
Depending on the level and sensitivity of the information being communicated the application developer may
require additional security. Any additional security measure would require encrypting the information before
transmitting to the destination point. This is referred to generically as application level encryption and
requires the developer to select and implement an encryption method that provides the required level of
security for the application. Any increase in the size of the actual information being sent due to the
encryption is not distinguished by the Iridium network from normal user data and the Iridium network will rate
the total size of the data message sent.
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