How does satellite Internet work?

If you're trying to access the Internet in a very rural or remote place, satellite Internet is probably your best bet. In this episode, Marshall explains how satellite Internet works.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:30):
with today's question, how does satellite internet operate? Let's imagine
that you live way out in the middle of nowhere,
or you're working at a site that's completely disconnected from
the rest of the world, say in the middle of
a giant national park, or a desert or a massive
forest or something like that. How do you access the

(00:52):
Internet in a situation like this? There are no cell
phone towers for hundreds of miles. There's no DSL lines
or cable access running along the street. Really, your only
option is to look up in the sky and reach
for a satellite. In fact, satellite internet access is really
your only option. It's ideal for rural internet users who

(01:16):
want broadband access, people camping in national forests, and anyone
who's working in a jungle or a desert that's far
from normal Internet access points. Satellite internet does not use
telephone lines or cable systems, but instead uses a satellite
dish for two way upload and download data communications. Upload

(01:39):
speed is about one tenth of the five kill a
bit per second download speed. Cable and DSL have speeds
that could be ten times or more higher than that,
but if you've got nothing, five kill a bits per
second looks pretty good. There are several companies today offering
satellite Internet access and you Usually the equipment consists of

(02:02):
first a satellite dish approximately two ft by three ft second,
two modems, one for up link and one for down link,
and then some coaxial cables between the dishes and the modem,
and a cable that connects to your computer. The key
installation planning requirement is a clear view to the south
that means no trees getting in the way, since the

(02:24):
orbiting satellites are usually tending to be over the equator area,
and like satellite TV, trees and heavy rains can affect
reception of the Internet signals. Two way satellite internet usually
uses Internet Protocol multicasting technology, which means up to five
thousand channels of communication can simultaneously be served by a

(02:47):
single satellite. I P multicasting sends data from one point
the satellite to many points at the same time. By
sending data in compressed format, compression reduces the size of
the data and the bandwidth, allowing so many people to
share that same connection. In some rural areas, there's also

(03:09):
hybrid systems where the data comes down via satellite, but
the up link is served with a normal dial up modem.
This sometimes can reduce the cost and improve response times
for the connection. So if you're in a rural area
or a truly remote area and you want broadband access
to the Internet, satellite Internet maybe a good option. In fact,

(03:31):
it may be your only option for more on this
and thousands of other topics because it has staff works
dot com. Audible dot com is the leading provider of
digital audio books and spoken word, with over one titles
to choose from. Audible lets you listen to your favorite
books anywhere, anytime. Go to audible podcast dot com slash

(03:54):
stuff Brain to get a free audio book download of
your choice when you sign up today.