Fixed Service Satellite
Encyclopedia
Fixed Service Satellite (or FSS), is the official classification (used chiefly in North America) for geostationary communications satellite
s used for broadcast feeds for television station
s and radio station
s and broadcast network
s, as well as for telephony
, telecommunication
s and data communications.
FSS satellites have also been used for Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite television
channels in North America since the late 1970s. This role has been mostly supplanted by direct broadcast satellite
(DBS) television systems starting in 1994 when DirecTV
launched the first DBS television system. However, FSS satellites in North America are also used to relay channels of cable tv networks from their originating studios to local cable headends and to the operations centers of DBS services (such as DirecTV
and Dish Network
) to be re-broadcast over their DBS systems.
FSS satellites were the first geosynchronous communications satellites launched in space (such as Intelsat 1 (Early Bird
), Syncom 3, Anik 1, Westar 1
, Satcom 1 and Ekran
) and new ones are still being launched and utilized to this day.
FSS satellites operate in either the C band
(from 3.7 to 4.2 GHz) or the FSS Ku
bands (from 11.45 to 11.7 and 12.5 to 12.75 GHz in Europe, and 11.7 to 12.2 GHz in the United States). The higher frequency bands tend to have more spectrum and orbital slots available, but more expensive technology and higher rain margin.
FSS satellites operate at a lower power than DBS satellites, requiring a much larger dish than a DBS system, usually 3 to 8 ft (0.9144 to 2.4 ) for Ku band, and 12 feet (3.7 m) or larger for C band (compared to 18 to 24 in (45.7 to 61 ) for DBS dishes). Also, unlike DBS satellites which use circular polarization
on their transponders, FSS satellite transponders use linear polarization
.
Systems used to receive television channels and other feeds from FSS satellites are usually referred to as TVRO (Television Receive Only) systems, as well as being referred to as big-dish systems (due to the much larger dish size compared to systems for DBS satellite reception), or, more pejoratively, BUD, or big ugly dish systems.
The Canadian Shaw Direct satellite TV service relies on FSS satellite technology in the Ku band. Primestar
in the USA used Ku transponders on an FSS satellite as well for its delivery to subscribing households, until Primestar was acquired by DirecTV
in 1999.
satellite TV service also relies on FSS satellite technology in the Ku band to provide the necessary additional capacity to handle local channels required by FCC must-carry rules and make room for HDTV resolution. The old SuperDish
system that Dish ceased manufacture of years ago, receives circularly-polarized DBS 12.7 GHz from both 110-degree (the Echostar 8 & 10 satellites) and 119-degree (the Echostar 7 satellite) orbital locations as well as linearly-polarized FSS 11.7 GHz from either the 121-degree (Echostar 9) or 105-degree (AMC 15) orbital locations depending on consumer choice. Those FSS satellites are no longer used for Dish Network home subscribers, and are now used exclusively for commercial or corporate services. Dish now uses the 118.7-degree (Anik-F3 -FSS) on their Dish 500+ and Dish 1000+ dishes. It has an oval LNB called a DP DBS/FSS Dual Band. This LNB will receive both the 119-degree and 118.7-degree satellites.
While the original Dish Network satellites use circular polarity at 12.7 GHz, the newer Intelsat 13/Echostar 9 satellite at 121-degrees uses the older FSS technology to broadcast commercial and corporate services. As a result, newer DiSH Network receivers are designed to receive both circular and linearly-polarized signals at two different intermediate frequencies from up to five different orbital locations.
The SuperDish had three low-noise block downconverters to accommodate the three satellites and two different technologies. SuperDish came in two configurations: SuperDiSH 121 was for international programming (but is now used exclusively for commercial and corporate services) and SuperDiSH 105 (also used today exclusively for commercial and corporate services) was used for high definition and for those customers in areas whose local channels are only available on the 105-degree satellite. As with other FSS technologies these signals are much lower power and as a result the SuperDISH is a very large and lopsided appendage. However, since the SuperDISH is under 1-meter in width it cannot be banned by homeowners' associations.
Communications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
s used for broadcast feeds for television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s and radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s and broadcast network
Broadcast network
A broadcast network is an organization, such as a corporation or other voluntary association, that provides live television or recorded content, such as movies, newscasts, sports, Public affairs programming, and other television programs for broadcast over a group of radio stations or television...
s, as well as for telephony
Telephony
In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
, telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s and data communications.
FSS satellites have also been used for Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
channels in North America since the late 1970s. This role has been mostly supplanted by direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite
Direct broadcast satellite is a term used to refer to satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception.A designation broader than DBS would be direct-to-home signals, or DTH. This has initially distinguished the transmissions directly intended for home viewers from cable television...
(DBS) television systems starting in 1994 when DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
launched the first DBS television system. However, FSS satellites in North America are also used to relay channels of cable tv networks from their originating studios to local cable headends and to the operations centers of DBS services (such as DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
and Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
) to be re-broadcast over their DBS systems.
FSS satellites were the first geosynchronous communications satellites launched in space (such as Intelsat 1 (Early Bird
Early Bird
Early Bird may refer to:*A "lark", or "morning person", who usually gets up early in the morning and goes to bed early in the evening*An "early bird sale", also known as a Doorbuster...
), Syncom 3, Anik 1, Westar 1
Westar 1
Westar 1 was America's first domestic and commercially launched geostationary communications satellite, launched by Western Union and NASA on April 13, 1974. It was built by Hughes for Western Union, using the HS-333 platform of spin-stabilized satellites. Westar 1 was the first of five Westar...
, Satcom 1 and Ekran
Ekran
Ekran was a Soviet-Russian type of geostationary satellite, developed for a national system of Direct-To-Home television.The first satellite of Ekran series was launched in 1976. Each satellite in the Ekran series was designed to provide one TV and 2 radio program channels to cable TV systems...
) and new ones are still being launched and utilized to this day.
FSS satellites operate in either the C band
C band
The C band is a name given to certain portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including wavelengths of microwaves that are used for long-distance radio telecommunications. The IEEE C-band - and its slight variations - contains frequency ranges that are used for many satellite communications...
(from 3.7 to 4.2 GHz) or the FSS Ku
Ku band
The Kμ band is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies. This symbol refers to —in other words, the band directly below the K-band...
bands (from 11.45 to 11.7 and 12.5 to 12.75 GHz in Europe, and 11.7 to 12.2 GHz in the United States). The higher frequency bands tend to have more spectrum and orbital slots available, but more expensive technology and higher rain margin.
FSS satellites operate at a lower power than DBS satellites, requiring a much larger dish than a DBS system, usually 3 to 8 ft (0.9144 to 2.4 ) for Ku band, and 12 feet (3.7 m) or larger for C band (compared to 18 to 24 in (45.7 to 61 ) for DBS dishes). Also, unlike DBS satellites which use circular polarization
Circular polarization
In electrodynamics, circular polarization of an electromagnetic wave is a polarization in which the electric field of the passing wave does not change strength but only changes direction in a rotary type manner....
on their transponders, FSS satellite transponders use linear polarization
Linear polarization
In electrodynamics, linear polarization or plane polarization of electromagnetic radiation is a confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic field vector to a given plane along the direction of propagation...
.
Systems used to receive television channels and other feeds from FSS satellites are usually referred to as TVRO (Television Receive Only) systems, as well as being referred to as big-dish systems (due to the much larger dish size compared to systems for DBS satellite reception), or, more pejoratively, BUD, or big ugly dish systems.
The Canadian Shaw Direct satellite TV service relies on FSS satellite technology in the Ku band. Primestar
PrimeStar
PrimeStar was a U.S. direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in 1991 by a consortium of cable television system operators. PrimeStar was the first medium-powered DBS system in the United States but slowly declined in popularity with the arrival of DirecTV in 1994 and Dish Network in...
in the USA used Ku transponders on an FSS satellite as well for its delivery to subscribing households, until Primestar was acquired by DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
in 1999.
FSS and the rest of the world
The term of Fixed Service Satellite is chiefly a North American one, and is seldom used outside of the North American continent. This is because most satellites used for direct-to-home television in Europe, Asia, and elsewhere have the same high power output as DBS-class satellites in North America, but use the same linear polarization as FSS-class satellites.Dish Network and FSS
The Dish NetworkDish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
satellite TV service also relies on FSS satellite technology in the Ku band to provide the necessary additional capacity to handle local channels required by FCC must-carry rules and make room for HDTV resolution. The old SuperDish
SuperDish
The SuperDish is a satellite dish that was deployed by Dish Network in November 2003 as a means to provide more channels for subscribing customers. Its elliptical reflector is 36" x 20" - more than 50% larger than the round 20" Dish 500. The SuperDish receives signals from three orbiting...
system that Dish ceased manufacture of years ago, receives circularly-polarized DBS 12.7 GHz from both 110-degree (the Echostar 8 & 10 satellites) and 119-degree (the Echostar 7 satellite) orbital locations as well as linearly-polarized FSS 11.7 GHz from either the 121-degree (Echostar 9) or 105-degree (AMC 15) orbital locations depending on consumer choice. Those FSS satellites are no longer used for Dish Network home subscribers, and are now used exclusively for commercial or corporate services. Dish now uses the 118.7-degree (Anik-F3 -FSS) on their Dish 500+ and Dish 1000+ dishes. It has an oval LNB called a DP DBS/FSS Dual Band. This LNB will receive both the 119-degree and 118.7-degree satellites.
While the original Dish Network satellites use circular polarity at 12.7 GHz, the newer Intelsat 13/Echostar 9 satellite at 121-degrees uses the older FSS technology to broadcast commercial and corporate services. As a result, newer DiSH Network receivers are designed to receive both circular and linearly-polarized signals at two different intermediate frequencies from up to five different orbital locations.
The SuperDish had three low-noise block downconverters to accommodate the three satellites and two different technologies. SuperDish came in two configurations: SuperDiSH 121 was for international programming (but is now used exclusively for commercial and corporate services) and SuperDiSH 105 (also used today exclusively for commercial and corporate services) was used for high definition and for those customers in areas whose local channels are only available on the 105-degree satellite. As with other FSS technologies these signals are much lower power and as a result the SuperDISH is a very large and lopsided appendage. However, since the SuperDISH is under 1-meter in width it cannot be banned by homeowners' associations.