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Quite a few satellites orbit above the earths surface, over 50. These are spaced out two to three degrees apart. The satellites orbit at exactly the same speed and direction as the earth itself so that they remain in a fixed position above a particular area, which helps to make it easy for you to receive a signal.

Each satellite only covers around 1/3 of the world's surface, this is because it is the only area that is visible from the satellite's position. For certain broadband satellite tv to receive signals, what are known as "spot beams", are pointed directly down at certain times.

Massive multi national companies own the satellites used for brodband satellite tv. Newskies, Eutelsat, and Intelsat are three of these companies. Some national companies and regional operators are also available for you to subscribe to.

There are many features of a Broadband Satellite TV.

Internet service providers offer broadband satellite tv, these ISPs sell their services to consumers. Many of them provide free equipment to get you started and offer monthly subscriptions, each of which depends on the capacity you require (what channels).

When you subscribe to a broadband satellite TV provider, you will get a small satellite dish, which could be 60cm all the way through to 3.7m in diameter, and you'll get a receiver module, and a suitable transmit module. This equipment is vital to you being able to receive signals from the satellite broadband, and extracting data from your computer or network. If you have this equipment inside your home it can prepare your system for data transmission, whenever you click the mouse over the internet.

When you subscribe for broadband satellite tv, you will be paying for an amount of data, or a specific bit rate, such as 512k down. This means that when you download a file, the highest speed will be 512k bits. Most broadband satellite tv providers offer "shared bit rates", these will be limited or lower bit rates that offer a specified capacity that you will be sharing.

Its good to be aware that if you choose to use the sharing arrangements, you will be given a monthly upload and download limit. This is done to ensure that other users can block you from receiving broadcasts. The policies surrounding the 'fairness' can be complicated and will vary from one broadband satellite tv provider to the next.

If having limits puts you off, then you can subscribe with a CIR (continuous information rate) service that lets you upload and download unlimited data to your hearts content. Just expect a more expensive subscruption rate if you decide to go down this route, as they are generally used for commercial purposes, like internet cafes and other businesses that require large bit rates.