Microwave Transmission

Transmission using microwave part of the Electromagnetic Wave Spectrum

Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

• Land-based, line-of-sight transmission
• Approximately 32-48 kilometers between towers
• Transmits data at hundreds of millions of bits per second
• Signals will not pass through solid objects
• Popular with telephone companies and business-to-business transmissions

Satellite Microwave Transmission

• Similar to terrestrial microwave except the signal travels from a ground station on Earth to a satellite and back to another ground station.

• Can also transmit signals from one satellite to another.

• Satellites can be classified by their orbital distance:

  • LEO (Low-Earth-Orbit) – 160 to 1,600 kilometers out

    • Used for wireless e-mail, special mobile telephones, pagers, spying, videoconferencing

  • MEO (Middle-Earth-Orbit) – 1,600 to 36,000 kilometers out

    • Used for GPS (global positioning systems) and government

  • GEO (Geosynchronous-Earth-Orbit) – 36,000 kilometers out

    • Always over the same position on Earth (and always over the equator)
    • Used for weather, television, government operations

  • HEO (Highly Elliptical Earth orbit) – Satellite follows an elliptical orbit

    • Used by the military for spying and by scientific organizations for photographing celestial bodies