ABSTRACT
Satellite communication has become an integral part of the communications industry in less than twenty years. Merely ten years ago countries depended on undersea cables and high frequency radio. Today over one hundred nations rely on communication satellites to meet their broadcast and information transmission needs. Satellites are a most desirable means to bridge long distances. Costs for terrestrial facilities are proportional to the length of the distance to be covered. This implies that the longer the distance, the higher the cost to provide the desired linkage. Satellites, however, are independent of the length of the route, i.e., connecting two facilities thirty miles apart costs as much as connecting them 4, 000 miles apart. Satellites, therefore, are cost-effective as well as efficient to bridge long distances (Rice & Parker, 1979; Wigand, 1980a). The key advantages of communication satellites over terrestrial systems include: local autonomy, flexibility, growth and coverage, improved signal quality, cost, and reliability.
