SATELLITE TV TECHNOLOGY

"The goal of our entire program is to educate the next-generation of technicians, installers and other telecommunication professionals on how to use satellite technology to serve the needs of consumers, businesses and even emergency responders. Here are a few reasons why the technology is so important.

On the consumer front, the transition to HDTV, both in the USA and abroad, is driving growth in the number of satellites and satellite TV channels. And American households will increasingly be turning to HDTV-compatible home entertainment gear in advance of the looming transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting, and for a long time thereafter. As more people become familiar with the clarity of HDTV I expect them to search for more sources of programming than what they can obtain locally over the air. The same overall trend will be sweeping throughout Europe and eventually the rest of the world. This will require additional satellite capacity as ell as additional HDTV programming.

From the mid-to-large enterprise perspective, satellites represent an essential component of any comprehensive I.T. strategy. Even smaller businesses, especially those located in underserved rural areas, need to be aware of what their options are when it comes to interacting with the world.

Satellites also represent the only infrastructure certain to remain standing in the wake of a hurricane, earthquake, tsunami or terrorist attack. Knowledge of the technology is no longer a communications convenience, but rather an essential survival skill.

This is not to say that there won't be challenges ahead. One of the more recent industry moves involved the finalization of wireless standards for the in-building distribution of HDTV signals. Wired solutions reaching beyond the confines of the living room are simply not economically practical so we should expect wireless to pick up the slack. Moreover, satellite receiving systems are becoming more and more complicated due to the need for switching solutions that will allow signals to be moved between multiple TV sets as well as other sorts of electronic gear within the home.

Although broadband via satellite did not take off as I and others had predicted in the late 1990s, recent advances in satellite-based switching technology and a new generation of Ka-band satellites continues to hold long term promise as the best solution for providing broadband connectivity to rural households and businesses around the world. The Internet might appear to be a worthy challenger to satellites but the fact is that the global infrastructure is simply not yet in place that would permit the free wheeling access to programming that only satellites can provide today. Fiber optic systems like Verizon's FIOS look promising but when you look at the available coverage today you can see that its range remains limited in many locales around the world."

THREE MULTIMEDIA COURSES ON SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY (2008)

THREE MULTIMEDIA COURSES ON
SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY (2008)