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Satellite Basics

1. Benefits of satellite communications


A. How do satellites deliver vital communications around the world? Because of their universal and multi-point nature, satellite-based solutions can provide a flexible and cost-effective answer to support:

Fixed or wireless voice and data communications Enterprise networkin Financial transactions !nternet linka es Satellite video transmission and distribution networks

!n ever" case, !ntelsat solutions provide for the deliver" of vital information, news, sports and entertainment to ever" corner of the lobe, no matter how remote.

B: What are the key benefits of satellites? Satellite communications have distinct benefits over terrestrial alternatives:

#$!%E&S'(: Satellite communications are available virtuall" ever"where. ' small constellation of satellites can cover the Earth)s entire surface. 'nd even the reach of a sin le satellite is far more extensive than what an" terrestrial network can achieve.

%E&S'*!(E: Satellites can support all of toda")s communications needs transactional and multimedia applications, video, voice, cellular networks, entertainment and breakin news. o Brin broadband to the last mile of residences and businesses. o +vercome re ulator" issues that make alternative carriers dependent on incumbents. o ,eliver a communications infrastructure to areas where terrestrial alternatives are unavailable, unreliable or simpl" too expensive. &E(!'B(E: Satellite is a proven medium for supportin a compan")s communications needs. -hereas terrestrial !. networks are often a mix of different networks and topolo ies, with different level of con estion and latenc". Satellite networks are extremel" predictable allowin constant and uniform /ualit" of service to hundreds of locations, re ardless of eo raph". SE'0(ESS: Satellite)s inherent stren th as a broadcast medium makes it ideal for the simultaneous distribution of bandwidth-intensive information to hundreds or thousands of locations. F'S*: #nlike most terrestrial alternatives, satellite networks can be rolled out /uickl" and inexpensivel" to hundreds or thousands of locations, connectin cities or remote locations across a lar e landmass, where copper or fiber is cost prohibitive. Since satellite networks can be set up /uickl", companies can be fastto-market with new services. E1.'$,'B(E: Satellite networks are easil" scalable, allowin users to expand their communications networks and their available bandwidth easil". !n coordination with local vendors, expandin a network on the round re/uires the orderin of new terminal components and the commissionin of increased bandwidth at each site. F(E1!B(E: Satellites can be easil" inte rated to complement, au ment or extend an" communications network, helpin overcome eo raphical barriers, terrestrial network limitations and other constrainin infrastructure issues.

2. 3ow satellite communications work


A. What is a communications satellite and how does it work? ' communications satellite is a radio rela" station in orbit above the earth that receives, amplifies, and redirects analo and di ital si nals carried on a specific radio fre/uenc". !n addition to communications satellites, there are other t"pes of satellites:

-eather satellites: *hese satellites provide meteorolo ists with scientific data to predict weather conditions and are e/uipped with advanced instruments Earth observation satellites: *hese satellites allow scientists to ather valuable data about the earth)s ecos"stem $avi ation satellites: #sin 4.S technolo " these satellites are able to provide a person)s exact location on Earth to within a few meters

B. What are the different kinds of orbits? 'n orbit is the path that a satellite follows as it revolves around Earth. !n terms of commercial satellites, there are three main cate ories of orbits: Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO): 35, !" k# abo$e the earth

+rbitin at the hei ht of 22,252 miles above the e/uator 678,95: km;, the satellite travels in the same direction and at the same speed as the Earth)s rotation on its axis, takin 2< hours to complete a full trip around the lobe. *hus, as lon as a satellite is positioned over the e/uator in an assi ned orbital location, it will appear to be =stationar"= with respect to a specific location on the Earth. ' sin le eostationar" satellite can view approximatel" one third of the Earth)s surface. !f three satellites are placed at the proper lon itude, the hei ht of this orbit allows almost all of the Earth)s surface to be covered b" the satellites.

%ediu# Earth Orbit (%EO): !,&&&'(&,&&& k# abo$e the earth

*hese orbits are primaril" reserved for communications satellites that cover the $orth and South .ole #nlike the circular orbit of the eostationar" satellites, 0E+)s are placed in an elliptical 6oval-shaped; orbit

)o* Earth Orbit ()EO): 5&&'(,&&& k# abo$e the earth

*hese orbits are much closer to the Earth, re/uirin satellites to travel at a ver" hi h speed in order to avoid bein pulled out of orbit b" Earth)s ravit" 't (E+, a satellite can circle the Earth in approximatel" one and a half hours

GEO $s. %EO $s. )EO 0ost communications satellites in use toda" for commercial purposes are placed in the eostationar" orbit, because of the followin advanta es:

+ne satellite can cover almost 1>7 of Earth)s surface, offerin a reach far more extensive than what an" terrestrial network can achieve ?ommunications re/uire the use of fixed antennas. Since eos"nchronous satellites remain stationar" over the same orbital location, users can point their satellite dishes in the ri ht direction, without costl" trackin activities, makin communications reliable and secure 4E+ satellites are proven, reliable and secure - with a lifespan of 1@-18 "ears

For a more comprehensive understandin of satellite advanta es, see benefits of satellite. +. ,atellite architecture ?ommunications data passes throu h a satellite usin a si nal path known as a transponder. *"picall" satellites have between 2< and 92 transponders. ' sin le transponder is capable of handlin up to 188 million bits of information per second. -ith this immense capacit", toda")s communication satellites are an ideal medium for transmittin and receivin almost an" kind of content - from simple voice or data to the most complex and bandwidth-intensive video, audio and !nternet content.

-ia.ra##atic /e0resentation of a ,atellite

-. Orbital location and foot0rint *he location of a eostationar" satellite is referred to as its orbital location. !nternational satellites are normall" measured in terms of lon itudinal de rees East 6A E; from the .rime 0eridian of @A 6for example, !ntelsat)s !S-5@8 satellite is currentl" located at 7@<.8A E;. *he eo raphic area of the Earth)s surface over which a satellite can transmit to, or receive from, is called the satellite)s =footprint.= *he footprint can be tailored to include beams with different fre/uencies and power levels. E. 1re2uency bands and bea#s Satellites transmit information within radio fre/uenc" bands. *he fre/uenc" bands most used b" satellite communications companies are called ?-band and the hi her Bu-band. +ver the next several "ears, the use of a hi her fre/uenc" band known as Ba-band is expected to increase. 0odern satellites are desi ned to focus on different ran es of fre/uenc" bands and different power levels at particular eo raphic areas. *hese focus areas are called beams. !ntelsat offers four beam t"pes:

4lobal: coverin almost 1>7 of Earth)s surface 3emi: coverin almost 1>: of Earth)s surface Cone: coverin a lar e landmass area Spot: coverin a specific eo raphic area

1. What is installed on the .round? 'll communications with a eostationar" satellite re/uire usin an earth station or antenna. Earth Stations ma" be either fixed 6installed at a specific location; or mobile for uses such as Satellite $ews 4atherin 6S$4; or maritime applications. 'ntennas ran e in siDe, from lar e telecommunications carrier dishes of <.8 to 18 meters in diameter, to

%S'* antennas which can be as small as under one meter, desi ned to support services such as ,irect to 3ome *% 6,*3; and rural telephon". *he antenna, itself, will enerall" be connected to e/uipment indoors called an indoor unit 6!,#;, which then connects either to the actual communications devices bein used, to a (ocal 'rea $etwork 6('$;, or to additional terrestrial network infrastructure. G. 3et*ork to0olo.ies ,ependin on the application, satellites can be used with different round network desi ns or network topolo ies. 't its simplest, satellite can support one-direction or twodirection links between two earth stations 6called respectivel" simplex transmission and duplex transmission;. 0ore complex communications needs can also be addressed with more sophisticated network topolo ies, such as star and mesh. *he followin examples show some of the options available to customers for confi urin their satellite networks: ,i#0le4 5rans#ission

'pplications for simplex services include broadcast transmissions such as:


*% and video services &adio services

6oint'to'6oint -u0le4 5rans#ission

'pplications for duplex services include:


%oice *elephon" transport ,ata and !. transport 6especiall" in as"mmetric confi urations; ?orporate networks *% and Broadcast pro ram contribution and distribution

6oint'to'%ulti0oint 5rans#ission

60a" be simplex or duplex, s"mmetric or as"mmetric;. 'pplications for point-to-multipoint services include:

?orporate networks, includin %S'* services and business television %ideo and broadcast distribution, includin ,irect-to-3ome !nternet services

%obile 7ntenna ,er$ice

'pplications for mobile antenna services include:


Satellite $ews 4atherin Special Event Backhaul and Broadcastin 0aritime services

,tar 3et*ork

'pplications for Star $etworks include:


?orporate $etworks ,istance (earnin

%esh 3et*ork

'pplications for 0esh $etworks include:


$ational and !nternational *elephon" and ,ata networks &ural *elephon"

1re2uency Bands
*here are four radio fre/uenc" bands that communication and militar" satellites operate within: + band 8 u0link 5.9(5'".:(5 G;<= do*nlink 3. ':.( G;< *he ? band is primaril" used for voice and data communications as well as backhaulin . Because of its weaker power it re/uires a lar er antenna, usuall" above 1.5m 6:ft;. 3owever, due to the lower fre/uenc" ran e, it performs better under adverse weather conditions on the round. > band 8 u0link .9' !.: G;<, do*nlink .(5 8 . 5 G;< *he 1 band is used mainl" for militar" communications and -ideband 4lobal S'*?+0 6-4S; s"stems. -ith relativel" few satellites in orbit in this band, there is a wider separation between adEacent satellites, makin it ideal for ?omms-on-the 0ove 6?+*0; applications. *his band is less susceptible to rain fade than the Bu Band due to the lower fre/uenc" ran e, resultin in a hi her performance level under adverse weather conditions. ?u band8 u0link @: G;<= do*nlink @&.9'@(. 5 G;< Bu band is used t"picall" for consumer direct-to-home access, distance learnin applications, retail and enterprise connectivit". *he antenna siDes, ran in from @.Fm -1.2m 6G7ft;, are much smaller than ? band because the hi her fre/uenc" means that hi her ain can be achieved with small antenna siDes than ?-band. $etworks in this band are more susceptible to rain fade, especiall" in tropical areas. ?a band 8 u0link (".5':&G;<= do*nlink @!'(& G;A *he Ba band is primaril" used for two-wa" consumer broadband and militar" networks. Ba band dishes can be much smaller and t"picall" ran e from :@cm-1.2m 62) to <); in diameter. *ransmission power is much reater compared to the ?, 1 or Bu band beams. ,ue to the hi her fre/uencies of this band, it can be more vulnerable to si nal /ualit" problems caused b" rain fade.

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