SipRadius founder and chief scientist Sergio Ammirata, Ph.D. co authored a recent RIST Forum article with Ciro Noronha, Ph.D., CTO at Cobalt Digital, examining why hybrid satellite and IP delivery is emerging as a practical blueprint for reliable large scale media distribution.
The article outlines the complementary strengths and limitations of traditional RF transmission and internet based delivery. While satellite and terrestrial broadcast remain highly efficient for one to many distribution, they are vulnerable to interference, spectrum constraints, and environmental conditions. Internet delivery, by contrast, offers flexibility and recovery capabilities but does not scale as efficiently for mass distribution. The authors argue that combining the two using RIST allows broadcasters to leverage satellite for primary delivery while using IP only to recover lost packets or provide failover when RF delivery is impaired.
Using a real world deployment in Barbados as an example, the article demonstrates how RIST hybrid satellite IP delivery enables automatic, packet accurate recovery during rain fade events without impacting the viewer experience. By requesting only the missing data over the internet and switching seamlessly when required, the system delivers high reliability with minimal bandwidth overhead. The contribution reinforces that hybrid delivery is no longer theoretical, but a proven, standards based approach already operating in commercial broadcast environments.