INTERFERENCE MONITORING IN RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Apparatus and methods for monitoring interference in radio communication systems are provided. In certain embodiments, an interference monitor system for a ground terminal detects for interference based on a sum of the power levels of orthogonal polarizations of detected interference, thereby allowing the total and average peak interference power levels to be obtained independent of interference polarization. Further, the interference can be divided into frequency bins over the received signal bandwidth(s), thereby facilitating measurement of interference spectral characteristics. Multiple interference monitors can be included to detect interference over the full angular range over which potential interference has access as well as to determine an angular direction of the interference.