System for verifying physical proximity between media content receivers

A satellite communications system comprising:

• a plurality of satellite transponders configured to transmit radio frequency signals at different frequencies within a radio frequency band, said plurality of satellite transponders including:
• a plurality of content transponders for transmitting broadcast content;
• and
• at least two to the power n (2n) message transponders, different from the content transponders, where n is a non-negative integer, each of the message transponders being configured such that its radio frequency signal comprises information different from the remaining message transponders;
• and
• a low-noise block down-converter (LNB) configured to receive the radio frequency signals via an antenna, the LNB being further configured to down-convert the signals from each of the content transponders to different corresponding content slots within an intermediate frequency band, the LNB being further configured to convert the signals from at least a plurality of the message transponders to a single predetermined message slot within the intermediate frequency band.

A satellite communications method comprising:

• transmitting, by a plurality of satellite transponders, radio frequency signals at different frequencies within a radio frequency band, said plurality of satellite transponders including:
• a plurality of content transponders for transmitting content;
• and
• at least two to the power n (2n) message transponders, different from the content transponders, where n is a non-negative integer, each of the message transponders being configured such that its radio frequency signal comprises information different from the remaining message transponders;
• and
• receiving, by a low-noise block down-converter (LNB), the radio frequency signals via an antenna;
• down-converting the radio frequency signals, by the LNB, from each of the content transponders to different corresponding content slots within an intermediate frequency band;
• and
• converting by the LNB the signals, from at least a plurality of the message transponders to a single predetermined message slot within the intermediate frequency band.