Span the Globe with Broadband Satellite Internet Access

When Internet access first became popular, networking was accomplished by telephone lines. Basically, one computer was instructed to contact another by dialing a telephone number and, once connected, could talk to each other in binary code language. Today users can have the same information using broadband satellite Internet access.

To understand the fundamentals of broadband satellite Internet access, the basis of which stems from the 1979 launch of a company called Inmarsat, you need to know the typical beams designed for satellite communications, global, wide spot and narrow spot.

Since most electronic signals require a line-of-sight connection, getting signals from one part of the globe to another, was virtually impossible and using the trans-Atlantic lines was unreliable and expensive. With satellites, instant communications became real along with the media’s capability to broadcast live events around the world.

Today, it is possible to use broadband satellite Internet access to obtain a high-speed connection from just about anywhere in the world. As satellite technology becomes more sophisticated, the price of using the satellite has also fallen to a point that for many users it can be less expensive than traditional means.

Beams Determine Coverage Areas

Coverage related to Inmarsat satellite is of three types. Global, which means each orbiting satellite has a single beam, which covers one-third of the globe. It generally covers -78 degrees to +78 degrees no matter the longitude. Wide spot beams create a coverage area designed to cover the company’s customers. Each of the satellites has 19 wide spot beams. Relating to broadband satellite Internet access, the narrow spot beam is considerably narrower and each satellite has 228 narrow spot beams.

What this means to the Internet user is that the use of narrow spot beams is still being developed for broadband satellite Internet access. Your computer uses a connection to a ground transmitter, which beams the digital signal to a satellite. The satellite then reformats the beam and transmits it to another ground init, the receiver, and you are connected. All this takes place at very high speeds.

This is advantageous for people living outside the realm of cable’s high speed access, or the telephone companies’ Dedicated Service Line (DSL) allowing just about everyone around the globe to gain faster speeds through broadband satellite Internet access.

DirecTV and Dish Network, the two leading providers of satellite television, also provide broadband satellite Internet access.