The future of public satellite communications

In little more than two decades, communications satellite technology has gone from being revolutionary to commonplace, from an idea to world wide service. In both industrialized and developing countries, economic and social progress depends on improved telecommunications. Like other means of transport, telephones, computers, satellites and fiber optic cables and their proper interfaces are essential for moving commercial goods and services. Benefits of satellite communications should in the 1990´s be extended to users in all parts of the world through the use of smaller, inexpensive and less sophisticated Earth stations for two way (voice and data), and one way (video, data) use. While earlier satellite systems have been designed and implemented using C and S band communications with satellites in geostationary orbits (GEO), K band communications using VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals) have enabled the communications across areas of the US and the world where extensive telecommunications networks did not exist and/or were not affordable. In addition, several systems have been proposed (being built) to provide for the global communication of the mobile users using clusters of smaller, less complex satellites in low Earth orbit (LEG) and medium Earth orbit (MEO). Mobile satellite systems are the future of the satellite communications technology applications. In this presentation, we will briefly summarize the status for satellite communications and then present a comparison of the enabling mobile satellite communications technologies and mobile satellite systems currently being developed. We will also review applications of these systems in public and commercial areas in this presentation