High-speed computer networking by satellite: a review of the results from Project Universe

Project Universe was a collaborative project to build a highspeed computer network linking local area networks (LANs) at a number of sites by broadcast satellite communication. This network was tested by a series of experiments in which a very wide range of traffic types, including those generated by conventional computer networking, by distributed computing and by real-time voice and video communication, were carried on the network. An important result from the experiment was the demonstration that a wide area network approaching the simplicity and performance of a local area network could be constructed. The project produced information on the characterization of the traffic types that a network providing fully integrated services would have to carry and gave some insight on how such a network would have to be constructed.