8. Satellite broadband

A satellite in geosynchronous orbit can cover a large part of the world and it appears at a fixed point in the sky. This can be used as an internet broadband link

Satellite broadband is an option for remote overseas locations, ships at sea and rural areas where there is only a slow ADSL telephone line and no cable.

The major issue with satellite broadband is latency - the satellite is 37,000 Km away and so it takes about 0.7 seconds for a signal to pass between two locations on the ground.

This is usually not a problem for downloading data but it is no good for real-time applications such as online gaming where you need very fast response time.

Conversations in an internet conference call can also be awkward as you tend to talk over one another.

challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you

Click on this link: Satellite broadband