Satellite Broadcasting and Satellite Communication

New technologies are deeply transforming the broadcasting industry. What we have seen so far is only the beginning of a long story. Inevitably, industry regulations must adapt, which means that a wide-ranging rethink of current practices is required. In order to assess the likely evolution of the industry, this article decomposes it into a number of components, from conception of programmes to their broadcasting, including distribution, storage and licensing. Contrary to popular expectations, the analysis suggests that the current high degree of concentration will, if anything, increase. The policy implication is that regulation, so far driven by now obsolete technological constraints, should increasingly emphasize promoting competition.

Broadcasting by satellite has enable the subscriber to cable system, Broadcasting has been a very concentrated and closely regulated industry the limited number of broadcasters was traditionally explained by the ‘spectrum constraint’, Satellite can be constrained by the amount of power they can radiate towards the receiving station, which has necessitated the provision of very large earth station antennas at a limited number of sites around the globe. From these ‘gateway’ stations the telecommunication signals are rooted into the terrestrial network. Now, attention has turned to the broadband and interactive potential of satellite services, as well as the convergence with other technologies such as mobile communications, global positioning and the Internet.

Satellites are used for a large number of purposes. Common types include military (spy) and civilian Earth observation satellites, communication satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and research satellites. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the satellite, and are classified in a number of ways. Well-known (overlapping) classes include low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit..Satellites are usually semi-independent computer controlled systems. Satellite subsystems attend many tasks, such as power generation, thermal control, telemetry, attitude control and orbit control.

Communication through satellites is usually done in the way described bellow:.

Television programs origin from a broadcasting studio, it could be a live broadcast or a taped TV program. The program is translated into a signal. The signal is sent up to the satellite with a process called – uplink. When it is received at the satellite, the signal is transmitted to another satellite using a process called turnaround, or it is transmitted back down to earth using a process called downlink. When a signal is down linked back to earth it is received by a satellite dish which we all know.
Because of the whole process of up linking and down linking, there is a transmission delay of a few seconds. This is why viewers of a cable channel will see it a few seconds before the viewers of a satellite channel.