Satellite Internet

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What Does Satellite Internet Mean?

Satellite Internet is the process of accessing the Internet with the help of communication satellites, usually geostationary satellites.

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Satellite Internet is location independent and the connection could be taken anywhere as it provides global coverage. It is the ideal Internet access in places where quality of access is unreliable or poor or places where terrestrial Internet access is unavailable.

Techopedia Explains Satellite Internet

Primary components of satellite Internet are

  • Satellite in the geostationary orbit.
  • Ground stations which are gateways to relay the data from and to the satellite.
  • Dish antenna with transceiver, which is provided at the user’s premises.

Advantages of satellite Internet:
1. Most ideal internet access for users who live in rural areas, or live far away from cities or cable or phone offices.
2. As it uses satellite dish for the two-way communication, does not need telephone cables or lines.
3. Compared to other internet options, there is less or negligible network outages in case of satellite internet.

Disadvantages of satellite Internet:

  • Set-up fees and equipment more expensive than traditional Internet services, as are repairs.
  • Connection speed usually slower than cable, DSL or fiber optic services due to signal latency.
  • Potential delay in upload and download of data.
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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.