Satellite communications - The ground segment grows

The types of satellite telecommunication services and the markets for associated earth stations, i.e., antennas, are outlined. No fine line exists between fixed-service, mobile service and broadcast categories for satellite-ground transmissions. All transmissions are basically broadcast, can be received by anyone with appropriate equipment, and can originate at one point and be received at multiple points. Private data transmission services, delivering at a rate of 1.48 Mbps, are opening foreign markets once dominated by government telephone services, which were only capable of 64 kbps rates. Ku-band 14/11 GHz links are used increasingly to avoid saturation problems. DBS is still in its infancy while its main competition, satellite-cable distribution points, is an established system. Mobile services will increase rapidly with operational status for small, nondirectional antennas. A Japanese manufacturer currently supplies 35 percent of the world nonmilitary antenna demand, about 3000 to date. The figure will increase too, loosely, 10,000-20,000 by the year 2000.