Internet over satellite (IoS)

Internet over Satellite (IoS) is an access technology that can be used to connect companies, Internet Service Providers(ISPs) and end users to the Internet. Internet-over- satellite technology is used wherever it is not possible to lay data cables or optical fibers. For example, in mountainous and sparsely populated areas.

Technically, there are two approaches to IoS technology: Either GEO satellites are used, which are geostationary satellites that are virtually "hung up" at a location in space and whose relative position to the earth remains unchanged. Or one works with LEO satellites, which are earth-orbiting satellites on low orbits. While GEO technology uses normal satellite dishes, LEO technology uses Very Small Aperture Terminals( VSAT).

The decisive factors for Internet over Satellite are the bidirectional communication between earth station and satellite via an uplink and downlink and the data transmission rates ofthe two links, which are, however, lower than those of DSL methods. With GEO technology, however, the propagation times between the earth station and the GEO satellite must be taken into account, which have a disruptive effect on Internet telephony and web conferencing. IoS technology can support up to 5,000 transmission channels simultaneously in IP multicast.