Questions:

1)Write a short research paper on the following:

A) Copper cables (Twisted pair cables and Coaxial cables)

B) Write a full page on fiber optic cables

2) Write a two page on satellite communications and include in your answer LEO
satellites and Geostationary satellites.

TWISTED PAIR CABLES:

Twisted pair cabling is a form of wiring in which two conductors (two halves of a single
circuit) are wound together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference
(EMI) from external sources; for instance, electromagnetic radiation from unshielded
twisted pair (UTP) cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs.
Twisting wires decreases interference because the loop area between
the wires (which determines the magnetic coupling into the signal) is reduced. In
balanced pair operation, the two wires typically carry equal and opposite signals
(differential mode) which are combined by addition at the destination. The common-
mode noise from the two wires (mostly) cancels each other in this addition because the
two wires have similar amounts of EMI that are 180 degrees out of phase. This results in
the same effect as subtraction. Differential mode also reduces electromagnetic radiation
from the cable, along with the attenuation that it causes. The twist rate
(also called pitch of the twist, usually defined in twists per meter) makes up part of the
specification for a given type of cable. Where pairs are not twisted, one member of the
pair may be closer to the source than the other, and thus exposed to slightly different
induced electromotive force (EMF). Where twist rates are equal, the same conductors of
different pairs may repeatedly lie next to each other, partially undoing the benefits of
differential mode. For this reason it is commonly specified that, at least for cables
containing small numbers of pairs, the twist rates must differ.

In contrast to FTP (foiled twisted pair) and STP (shielded twisted pair) cabling, UTP
(unshielded twisted pair) cable is not surrounded by any shielding. It is the primary wire
type for telephone usage and is very common for computer networking, especially as
patch cables or temporary network connections due to the high flexibility of the cables.

Twisted pair cables were first used in telephone systems by Alexander Graham Bell in
1881. By 1900, the entire American telephone line network was either twisted pair or
open wire with similar arrangements to guard against interference. Today, most of the
millions of kilometers of twisted pairs in the world are outdoor landlines, owned by

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telephone companies, used for voice service, and only handled or even seen by telephone
workers.

UTP cables are found in many Ethernet networks and telephone systems. For indoor
telephone applications, UTP is often grouped into sets of 25 pairs according to a standard
25-pair color code originally developed by AT&T. A typical subset of these colors
(white/blue, blue/white, white/orange, orange/white) shows up in most UTP cables.

For urban outdoor telephone cables containing hundreds or thousands of pairs, the cable
is divided into smaller but identical bundles. Each bundle consists of twisted pairs that
have different twist rates. The bundles are in turn twisted together to make up the cable.
Pairs having the same twist rate within the cable can still experience some degree of
crosstalk. Wire pairs are selected carefully to minimize crosstalk within a large cable.

UTP cable is also the most common cable used in computer networking. UTP cables are
often called Ethernet cables after Ethernet, the most common data networking standard
that utilizes UTP cables. Twisted pair cabling is often used in data networks for short and
medium length connections because of its relatively lower costs compared to optical fiber
and coaxial cable.

UTP is also finding increasing use in video applications, primarily in security cameras.
Much middle to high-end cameras includes a UTP output with setscrew terminals. This is
made possible by the fact that UTP cable bandwidth has improved to match the baseband
of television signals. While the video recorder most likely still has unbalanced BNC
connectors for standard coaxial cable, a balun is used to convert from 100-ohm balanced
UTP to 75-ohm unbalanced. A balun can also be used at the camera end for ones without
a UTP output. Only one pair is necessary for each video signal.

History

Wire transposition on top of pole

The earliest telephones used telegraph lines, or open-wire single-wire earth return
circuits. In the 1880s electric trams were installed in many cities, which induced noise
into these circuits. Lawsuits being unavailing, the telephone companies converted to
balanced circuits, which had the incidental benefit of decreasing attenuation, hence
increasing range. As electrical power distribution became more commonplace, this
measure proved inadequate. Two wires, strung on either side of cross bars on utility
poles, shared the route with electrical power lines. Within a few years the growing use of
electricity again brought an increase of interference, so engineers devised a method called
wire transposition, to cancel out the interference. In wire transposition, the wires
exchange position once every several poles. In this way, the two wires would receive
similar EMI from power lines. Today, such open-wire lines with periodic transpositions

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can still be found in rural areas. This represented an early implementation of twisting,
with a twist rate of about four twists per kilometer, or six per mile.

Cable shielding

Twisted pair cables are often shielded in attempt to prevent electromagnetic interference.
Because the shielding is made of metal, it may also serve as a ground. However, usually a
shielded or a screened twisted pair cable has a special grounding wire added called a
drain wire. This shielding can be applied to individual pairs, or to the collection of pairs.
When shielding is applied to the collection of pairs, this is referred to as screening. The
shielding must be grounded for the shielding to work.

Screened unshielded twisted pair (S/UTP) 

Also known as fully shielded (or Foiled) Twisted Pair (FTP), is a screened UTP
cable (ScTP).
Shielded twisted pair (STP or STP-A) 
STP cabling includes metal shielding over each individual pair of copper wires.
This type of shielding protects cable from external EMI (electromagnetic
interferences). e.g. the 150 ohm shielded twisted pair cables defined by the IBM
Cabling System specifications and used with token ring networks.
Screened shielded twisted pair (S/STP or S/FTP) 
S/STP cabling, also known as Screened Fully shielded Twisted Pair (S/FTP), [1] is
both individually shielded (like STP cabling) and also has an outer metal shielding
covering the entire group of shielded copper pairs (like S/UTP). This type of
cabling offers the best protection from interference from external sources, and also
eliminates alien crosstalk

Note that different vendors and authors use different terminology (i.e. STP has been used
to denote both STP-A, S/STP, and S/UTP) [2].

Advantages

 It is a thin, flexible cable that is easy to string between walls.

 Because UTP is small, it does not quickly fill up wiring ducts.
 UTP costs less per foot than any other type of LAN cable.

Disadvantages

 Twisted pair’s susceptibility to the electromagnetic interference greatly depends

on the pair twisting schemes (usually patented by the manufacturers) staying intact
during the installation. As a result, twisted pair cables usually have stringent
requirements for maximum pulling tension as well as minimum bend radius. This

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 relative fragility of twisted pair cables makes the installation practices an
important part of ensuring the cable’s performance.

Minor twisted pair variants

 Loaded twisted pair: A twisted pair that has intentionally added inductance,
common practice on telecommunication lines, except those carrying higher than
voice band frequencies. The added inductors are known as load coils and reduce
distortion.
 Unloaded twisted pair: A twisted pair that has no added load coils.
 Bonded twisted pair: A twisted pair variant in which the pairs are individually
bonded to increase robustness of the cable. Pioneered by Belden, it means the
electrical specifications of the cable are maintained despite rough handling.
 Twisted ribbon cable: A variant of standard ribbon cable in which adjacent pairs
of conductors are bonded and twisted together. The twisted pairs are then lightly
bonded to each other in a ribbon format. Periodically along the ribbon there are
short sections with no twisting to enable connectors and PCB headers to be
terminated using the usual ribbon cable IDC techniques.

COXIAL CABLES:

Coaxial cable is a cable consisting of an inner conductor, surrounded by a tubular

insulating layer typically made from a flexible material with a high dielectric constant, all
of which is then surrounded by another conductive layer (typically of fine woven wire for
flexibility, or of a thin metallic foil), and then finally covered again with a thin insulating
layer on the outside. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer
shield sharing the same geometric axis. Coaxial cables are often used as a transmission
line for radio frequency signals. In a hypothetical ideal coaxial cable the electromagnetic
field carrying the signal exists only in the space between the inner and outer conductors.
Practical cables achieve this objective to a high degree. A coaxial cable provides
protection of signals from external electromagnetic interference, and effectively guides
signals with low emission along the length of the cable.

Coaxial cable design choices affect physical size, frequency performance, attenuation,
power handling capabilities, flexibility, and cost. The inner conductor might be solid or
stranded; stranded is more flexible. To get better high-frequency performance, the inner
conductor may be silver plated. Sometimes copper-plated iron wire is used as an inner
conductor.

The insulator surrounding the inner conductor may be solid plastic, a foam plastic, or
may be air with spacers supporting the inner wire. The properties of dielectric control
some electrical properties of the cable. A common choice is a solid polyethylene (PE)
insulator, used in lower-loss cables. Solid Teflon (PTFE) is also used as an insulator.

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Some coaxial lines use air (or some other gas) and have spacers to keep the inner
conductor from touching the shield.

There is also a lot of variety in the shield. Conventional coaxial cable has braided copper
wire forming the shield. This allows the cable to be flexible, but it also means there are
gaps in the shield layer, and the inner dimension of the shield varies slightly because the
braid cannot be flat. Sometimes the braid is silver plated. For better shield performance,
some cables have a double-layer shield. The shield might be just two braids, but it is
more common now to have a thin foil shield covered by a wire braid. Some cables may
invest in more than two shield layers. Other shield designs sacrifice flexibility for better
performance; some shields are a solid metal tube. Those cables cannot take sharp bends,
as the shield will kink, causing losses in the cable. Many Cable television (CATV)
distribution systems use such "hard line" cables, as they provide a lower signal loss.

The insulating jacket can be made from many materials. A common choice is PVC, but
some applications may require fire-resistant materials. Outdoor applications may require
the jacket to resist ultraviolet light and oxidation. For internal chassis connections the
insulating jacket may be omitted. Connections at the ends of coaxial cables are usually
made with RF connectors.

Signal propagation

Open wire transmission lines have the property that the electromagnetic wave
propagating down the line extends into the space surrounding the parallel wires. These
lines have low loss, but also have undesirable characteristics. They cannot be bent,
twisted or otherwise shaped without changing their characteristic impedance. They also
cannot be run along or attached to anything conductive, as the extended fields will induce
currents in the nearby conductors causing unwanted radiation and detuning of the line.
Coaxial lines solve this problem by confining the electromagnetic wave to the area inside
the cable, between the center conductor and the shield. The transmission of energy in the
line occurs totally through the dielectric inside the cable between the conductors. Coaxial
lines can therefore be bent and moderately twisted without negative effects, and they can
be strapped to conductive supports without inducing unwanted currents in them. In radio-
frequency applications up to a few gigahertz, the wave propagates only in the transverse
electric magnetic (TEM) mode, which means that the electric and magnetic fields are
both perpendicular to the direction of propagation. However, above a certain cutoff
frequency, transverse electric (TE) and/or transverse magnetic (TM) modes can also
propagate, as they do in a waveguide. It is usually undesirable to transmit signals above
the cutoff frequency, since it may cause multiple modes with different phase velocities to
propagate, interfering with each other. The outer diameter is roughly inversely
proportional to the cutoff frequency.

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The outer conductor can also be made of (in order of decreasing leakage and in this case
degree of balance): double shield, wound foil, woven tape, braid. The ohmic losses in the
conductor increase in this order: Ideal conductor (no loss), superconductor, silver, copper.
It is further increased by rough surface (in the order of the skin depth, lateral: current hot
spots, longitudinal: long current path) for example due to woven braid, multistranded
conductors or a corrugated tube as a conductor) and impurities especially oxygen in the
metal (due to a lack of a protective coating). Litz wire is used between 1 kHz and 1 MHz
to reduce ohmic losses. Coaxial cables require an internal structure of an insulating
(dielectric) material to maintain the spacing between the center conductor and shield. The
dielectric losses increase in this order: Ideal dielectric (no loss), vacuum, air,
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyethylene foam, and solid polyethylene. It is further
increased by impurities like water. In typical applications the loss in polyethylene is
comparable to the ohmic loss at 1 GHz and the loss in PTFE is comparable to ohmic
losses at 10 GHz. A low dielectric constant allows for a greater center conductor: less
ohmic losses. An inhomogeneous dielectric needs to be compensated by a noncircular
conductor to avoid current hot-spots.

Types

Hard line is often confused with waveguide but the two are not the same. Hard line is used in
broadcasting as well as many other forms of radio communication. It is a coaxial cable
constructed using round copper, silver or gold tubing or a combination of such metals as a shield.
Some lower quality hard line may use aluminum shielding, aluminum however is easily oxidized
and unlike silver or gold oxide, aluminum oxide drastically loses effective conductivity.
Therefore all connections must be air and water tight. The center conductor may consist of solid
copper, or copper plated aluminum. Since skin effect is an issue with RF, copper plating provides
sufficient surface for an effective conductor. Most varieties of hardline used for external chassis
or when exposed to the elements have a PVC jacket; however, some internal applications may
omit the insulation jacket. Hard line can be very thick, typically at least a half inch or 13 mm and
up to several times that, and has low loss even at high power. These large scale hard lines are
almost always used in the connection between a transmitter on the ground and the antenna or
aerial on a tower. Hard line may also be known by trademarked names such as Heliax (Andrew),
or Cablewave (RFS/Cablewave). Larger varieties of hardline may consist of a center conductor
which is constructed from either rigid or corrugated copper tubing. The dielectric in hard line
may consist of polyethylene foam, air or a pressurized gas such as nitrogen or desiccated air
(dried air). In gas-charged lines, hard plastics such as nylon are used as spacers to separate the
inner and outer conductors. The addition of these gases into the dielectric space reduces moisture
contamination, provides a stable dielectric constant, as well as a reduced risk of internal arcing.
Gas-filled hardlines are usually used on high powered RF transmitters such as television or radio
broadcasting, military transmitters, as well as high powered Amateur radio applications but may
also be used on some critical lower powered applications such as those in the microwave bands.
Although in the microwave region waveguide is more often used than hard line for transmitter to
antenna, or antenna to receiver applications. The various shields used in hardline also differ;
some forms use rigid tubing, or pipe, others may use a corrugated tubing which makes bending
easier, as well as reduces kinking when the cable is bent to conform. Smaller varieties of hard

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line may be used internally in some high frequency applications, particularly in equipment within
the microwave range, to reduce interference between stages of the device.

Radiating or Leaky Cable is another form of coaxial cable which is constructed in a similar
fashion to hardline; however it is constructed with tuned slots cut into the shield. These slots are
tuned to the specific RF wavelength of operation or tuned to a specific radio frequency band.
This type of cable is to provide a tuned bi-directional "desired" leakage effect between
transmitter and receiver. It is often used in elevator shafts, underground, transportation tunnels
and in other areas where an antenna is not feasible. One example of this type of cable is Radiax
(Andrew)

RG/6 is available in three different types designed for various applications. "Plain" or "house"
wire is designed for indoor or external house wiring. "Flooded" cable is infused with heavy
waterproofing for use in underground conduit (ideally) or direct burial. "Messenger" may contain
some waterproofing but is distinguished by the addition of a steel messenger wire along its
length to carry the tension involved in an aerial drop from a utility pole.

Triaxial cable or triax is coaxial cable with a third layer of shielding, insulation and sheathing.
The outer shield, which is earthed (grounded), protects the inner shield from electromagnetic
interference from outside sources.

Twin-axial cable or twinax is a balanced, twisted pair within a cylindrical shield. It allows a
nearly perfect differential signal which is both shielded and balanced to pass through. Multi-
conductor coaxial cable is also sometimes used.

Biaxial cable or biax is a figure-8 configuration of two 50 Ω coaxial cables, externally

resembling that of lamp cord, or speaker wire. Biax is used in some proprietary computer
networks. Others may be familiar with 75Ω biax which at one time was popular on many cable
TV services.

Semi-rigid cable is a coaxial form using a solid copper outer sheath. This type of coax offers
superior screening compared to cables with a braided outer conductor, especially at higher
frequencies. The major disadvantage is that the cable, as its name implies, is not very flexible,
and is not intended to be flexed after initial forming. (See "hard line")

Uses
Short coaxial cables are commonly used to connect home video equipment, in ham radio setups,
and in measurement electronics. They used to be common for implementing computer networks,
in particular Ethernet, but twisted pair cables have replaced them in most applications except in
the growing consumer cable modem market for broadband Internet access.

Long distance coaxial cable is used to connect radio networks and television networks, though
this has largely been superseded by other more high-tech methods (fibre optics, T1/E1, satellite).
It still carries cable television signals to the majority of television receivers, and this purpose
consumes the majority of coaxial cable production.

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Micro coaxial cables are used in a range of consumer devices, military equipment, and also in
ultra-sound scanning equipment.

The most common impedances that are widely used are 50 or 52 ohms, and 75 ohms, although
other impedances are available for specific applications. The 50 / 52 ohm cables are widely used
for industrial and commercial two-way radio frequency applications (including radio, and
telecommunications), although 75 ohms is commonly used for broadcast television and radio.

FIBRE OPTIC CABLES

An optical fiber cable is a cable containing one or more optical fibers. The optical fiber
elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a
protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed.

Design

In practical fibers, the cladding is usually coated with a tough resin buffer layer, which
may be further surrounded by a jacket layer, usually plastic. These layers add strength to
the fiber but do not contribute to its optical wave guide properties. Rigid fiber assemblies
sometimes put light-absorbing ("dark") glass between the fibers, to prevent light that
leaks out of one fiber from entering another. This reduces cross-talk between the fibers,
or reduces flare in fiber bundle imaging applications. For indoor applications, the
jacketed fiber is generally enclosed, with a bundle of flexible fibrous polymer strength
members like Aramid (e.g. Twaron or Kevlar), in a lightweight plastic cover to form a
simple cable. Each end of the cable may be terminated with a specialized optical fiber
connector to allow it to be easily connected and disconnected from transmitting and
receiving equipment.

For use in more strenuous environments, a much more robust cable construction is
required. In loose-tube construction the fiber is laid helically into semi-rigid tubes,
allowing the cable to stretch without stretching the fiber itself. This protects the fiber
from tension during laying and due to temperature changes. Alternatively the fiber may
be embedded in a heavy polymer jacket, commonly called "tight buffer" construction.
These fiber units are commonly bundled with additional steel strength members, again
with a helical twist to allow for stretching.

A critical concern in cabling is to protect the fiber from contamination by water, because
its component hydrogen (hydronium) and hydroxyl ions can diffuse into the fiber,
reducing the fiber's strength and increasing the optical attenuation. Water is kept out of
the cable by use of solid barriers such as copper tubes, water-repellant jelly, or more
recently water absorbing powder, surrounding the fiber.

Finally, the cable may be armored to protect it from environmental hazards, such as
construction work or gnawing animals. Undersea cables are more heavily armored in

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their near-shore portions to protect them from boat anchors, fishing gear, and even
sharks, which may be attracted to the electrical power signals that are carried to power
amplifiers or repeaters in the cable.

Modern fiber cables can contain up to a thousand fibers in a single cable, so the
performance of optical networks easily accommodates even today's demands for
bandwidth on a point-to-point basis. However, unused point-to-point potential bandwidth
does not translate to operating profits, and it is estimated that no more than 1% of the
optical fiber buried in recent years is actually 'lit'.

Modern cables come in a wide variety of sheathings and armor, designed for applications
such as direct burial in trenches, dual use as power lines, and installation in conduit,
lashing to aerial telephone poles, submarine installation, or insertion in paved streets. In
recent years the cost of small fiber-count pole-mounted cables has greatly decreased due
to the high Japanese and South Korean demand for fiber to the home (FTTH)
installations.

A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsats) is an artificial satellite stationed

in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use a variety
of orbits including geostationary orbits, Molniya orbits, other elliptical orbits and low (polar and
non-polar) Earth orbits.

For fixed (point-to-point) services, communications satellites provide a microwave radio relay
technology complementary to that of submarine communication cables. They are also used for
mobile applications such as communications to ships, vehicles, planes and hand-held terminals,
and for TV and radio broadcasting, for which application of other technologies, such as cable, is
impractical or impossible.

History
Early missions

The first satellite equipped with on-board radio-transmitter that worked on two frequences,
20.005 and 40.002 MHz was the Soviet Sputnik 1, launched in 1957. The first American satellite
to relay communications was Project SCORE in 1958, which used a tape recorder to store and
forward voice messages. It was used to send a Christmas greeting to the world from U.S.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower. NASA launched an Echo satellite in 1960; the 100-foot
aluminized PET film balloon served as a passive reflector for radio communications. Courier 1B,
(built by Philco) also launched in 1960, was the world’s first active repeater satellite.

Telstar was the first active, direct relay communications satellite. Belonging to AT&T as part of
a multi-national agreement between AT&T, Bell Telephone Laboratories, NASA, the British
General Post Office, and the French National PTT (Post Office) to develop satellite
communication, it was launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral on July 10, 1962, the first

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privately sponsored space launch. Telstar was placed in an elliptical orbit (completed once every
2 hours and 37 minutes), rotating at a 45° angle above the equator.

An immediate antecedent of the geostationary satellites was Hughes’ Syncom 2, launched on

July 26, 1963. Syncom 2 revolved around the earth once per day at constant speed, but because it
still had north-south motion, special equipment was needed to track it.

Geostationary orbit

A satellite in a geostationary orbit appears to be in a fixed position to an earth-based observer. A

geostationary satellite revolves around the earth at a constant speed once per day over the
equator.

The geostationary orbit is useful for communications applications because ground based
antennas, which must be directed toward the satellite, can operate effectively without the need
for expensive equipment to track the satellite’s motion. Especially for applications that require a
large number of ground antennas (such as direct TV distribution), the savings in ground
equipment can more than justify the extra cost and onboard complexity of lifting a satellite into
the relatively high geostationary orbit.

The concept of the geostationary communications satellite was first proposed by Arthur C.
Clarke, building on work by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and on the 1929 work by Herman Potočnik
(writing as Herman Noordung) Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums - der Raketen-motor.
In October 1945 Clarke published an article titled “Extra-terrestrial Relays” in the British
magazine Wireless World. The article described the fundamentals behind the deployment of
artificial satellites in geostationary orbits for the purpose of relaying radio signals. Thus Arthur
C. Clarke is often quoted as being the inventor of the communications satellite.

The first truly geostationary satellite launched in orbit was the Syncom 3, launched on August
19, 1964. It was placed in orbit at 180° east longitude, over the International Date Line. It was
used that same year to relay experimental television coverage on the 1964 Summer Olympics in
Tokyo, Japan to the United States, the first television transmission sent over the Pacific Ocean.

Low-Earth-orbiting satellites

A Low Earth Orbit (LEO) typically is a circular orbit about 400 kilometres above the earth’s
surface and, correspondingly, a period (time to revolve around the earth) of about 90 minutes.
Because of their low altitude, these satellites are only visible from within a radius of roughly
1000 kilometres from the sub-satellite point. In addition, satellites in low earth orbit change their
position relative to the ground position quickly. So even for local applications, a large number of
satellites are needed if the mission requires uninterrupted connectivity.

Low earth orbiting satellites are less expensive to position in space than geostationary satellites
and, because of their closer proximity to the ground, require lower signal strength (Recall that

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signal strength falls off as the square of the distance from the source, so the effect is dramatic).
So there is a tradeoff between the number of satellites and their cost. In addition, there are
important differences in the onboard and ground equipment needed to support the two types of
missions.

A group of satellites working in concert thus is known as a satellite constellation. Two such
constellations which were intended for provision for satellite phone services, primarily to remote
areas, were the Iridium and Globalstar. The Iridium system has 66 satellites. Another LEO
satellite constellation known as Teledesic, with backing from Microsoft entrepreneur Paul Allen,
was to have over 840 satellites. This was later scaled back to 288 and ultimately ended up only
launching one test satellite.

It is also possible to offer discontinuous coverage using a low Earth orbit satellite capable of
storing data received while passing over one part of Earth and transmitting it later while passing
over another part. This will be the case with the CASCADE system of Canada’s CASSIOPE
communications satellite. Another system using this store and forward method is Orbcomm

Applications
Telephony

The first and historically most important application for communication satellites was in
intercontinental long distance telephony. The fixed Public Switched Telephone Network relays
telephone calls from land line telephones to an earth station, where they are then transmitted to a
geostationary satellite. The downlink follows an analogous path. Improvements in submarine
communications cables, through the use of fiber-optics, caused some decline in the use of
satellites for fixed telephony in the late 20th century, but they still serve remote islands such as
Ascension Island, Saint Helena, Diego Garcia, and Easter Island, where no submarine cables are
in service. There are also regions of some continents and countries where landline
telecommunications are rare to nonexistent, for example large regions of South America, Africa,
Canada, China, Russia, and Australia. Satellite communications also provide connection to the
edges of Antarctica and Greenland.

Satellite phones connect directly to a constellation of either geostationary or low-earth-orbit

satellites. Calls are then forwarded to a satellite teleport connected to the Public Switched
Telephone Network or to another satellite phone system.

Satellite television

Television became the main market, its demand for simultaneous delivery of relatively few
signals of large bandwidth to many receivers being a more precise match for the capabilities of
geosynchronous comsats. Two satellite types are used for North American television and radio:
Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), and Fixed Service Satellite (FSS)

The definitions of FSS and DBS satellites outside of North America, especially in Europe, are a
bit more ambiguous. Most satellites used for direct-to-home television in Europe have the same

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high power output as DBS-class satellites in North America, but use the same linear polarization
as FSS-class satellites. Examples of these are the Astra, Eutelsat, and Hotbird spacecraft in orbit
over the European continent. Because of this, the terms FSS and DBS are more so used
throughout the North American continent, and are uncommon in Europe.

Fixed Service Satellite

Fixed Service Satellites use the C band, and the lower portions of the Ku bands. They are
normally used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks and local affiliate stations
(such as program feeds for network and syndicated programming, live shots, and backhauls), as
well as being used for distance learning by schools and universities, business television (BTV),
Videoconferencing, and general commercial telecommunications. FSS satellites are also used to
distribute national cable channels to cable television headends.

Free-to-air satellite TV channels are also usually distributed on FSS satellites in the Ku band. The
Intelsat Americas 5, Galaxy 10R and AMC 3 satellites over North America provide a quite large
amount of FTA channels on their Ku band transponders.

The American Dish Network DBS service has also recently utilized FSS technology as well for
their programming packages requiring their SuperDish antenna, due to Dish Network needing
more capacity to carry local television stations per the FCC's "must-carry" regulations, and for
more bandwidth to carry HDTV channels.

Direct broadcast satellite

A direct broadcast satellite is a communications satellite that transmits to small DBS satellite
dishes (usually 18 to 24 inches or 45 to 60 cm in diameter). Direct broadcast satellites generally
operate in the upper portion of the microwave Ku band. DBS technology is used for DTH-
oriented (Direct-To-Home) satellite TV services, such as DirecTV and DISH Network in the
United States, Bell TV And Star Choice in Canada, Free sat in the UK and Sky Digital in the
UK, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand.

Operating at lower frequency and lower power than DBS, FSS satellites require a much larger
dish for reception (3 to 8 feet (1 to 2.5m) in diameter for Ku band, and 12 feet (3.6m) or larger
for C band). They use linear polarization for each of the transponders' RF input and output (as
opposed to circular polarization used by DBS satellites), but this is a minor technical difference
that users don't notice. FSS satellite technology was also originally used for DTH satellite TV
from the late 1970s to the early 1990s in the United States in the form of TVRO (TeleVision
Receive Only) receivers and dishes. It was also used in its Ku band form for the now-defunct
Prime star satellite TV service.

Satellites for communication have nowbeen launched that have transponders in the Ka band, such
as DirecTV's SPACEWAY-1 satellite, and Anik F2. NASA as well has launched experimental
satellites using the Ka band recently.

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Mobile satellite technologies

Initially available for broadcast to stationary TV receivers, by 2004 popular mobile direct
broadcast applications made their appearance with that arrival of two satellite radio systems in
the United States: Sirius and XM Satellite Radio Holdings. Some manufacturers have also
introduced special antennas for mobile reception of DBS television. Using GPS technology as a
reference, these antennas automatically re-aim to the satellite no matter where or how the vehicle
(that the antenna is mounted on) is situated. These mobile satellite antennas are popular with
some recreational vehicle owners. Such mobile DBS antennas are also used by JetBlue Airways
for DirecTV (supplied by LiveTV, a subsidiary of JetBlue), which passengers can view on-board
on LCD screens mounted in the seats.

Amateur radio

Amateur radio operators have access to the OSCAR satellites that have been designed
specifically to carry amateur radio traffic. Most such satellites operate as space borne repeaters,
and are generally accessed by amateurs equipped with UHF or VHF radio equipment and highly
directional antennas such as Yagis or dish antennas. Due to the limitations of ground-based
amateur equipment, most amateur satellites are launched into fairly low Earth orbits, and are
designed to deal with only a limited number of brief contacts at any given time. Some satellites
also provide data-forwarding services using the AX.25 or similar protocols.

Satellite Internet

After the 1990s, satellite communication technology has been used as a means to connect to the
Internet via broadband data connections. This can be very useful for users who are located in
very remote areas, and cannot access a broadband connection.

Military uses

Communications satellites are used for military communications applications, such as Global
Command and Control Systems. Examples of military systems that use communication satellites
are the MILSTAR, and the FLTSATCOM of the United States, NATO satellites, United
Kingdom satellites, and satellites of the former Soviet Union. Many military satellites operate in
the X-band, and some also use UHF radio links

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