A satellite radio or subscription radio (SR) is a digital radio signal that is broadcast by a communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio signals. Amateur radio Amateur radio operators have access to amateur satellites, which have been designed specifically to carry amateur radio traffic. Most such satellites operate as spaceborne repeaters, and are generally accessed by amateurs equipped with UHF or VHF radio equipment and highly directional antennas such as Yagis or dish antennas. Due to launch costs, most current amateur satellites are launched into fairly low Earth orbits, and are designed to deal with only a limited number of brief contacts at any given time. Some satellites also provide data-forwarding services using the X.25 or similar protocols. Internet access After the 1990s, satellite communication technology has been used as a means to connect to the Internet via broadband data connections. This can be very useful for users who are located in remote areas, and cannot access a broadband connection, or require high availability of services. Military Communications satellites are used for military communications applications, such as Global Command and Control Systems. Examples of military systems that use communication satellites are the MILSTAR, the DSCS, and the FLTSATCOM of the United States, NATO satellites, United Kingdom satellites (for instance Skynet), and satellites of the former Soviet Union. India has launched its first Military Communication satellite GSAT-7, its transponders operate in UHF, F, C and bands. Typically military satellites operate in the UHF, SHF (also known as X-band) or EHF (also known as Ka band) frequency bands. Data collection Near-ground in situ environmental monitoring equipment (such as weather stations, weather buoys, and radiosondes), may use satellites for one-way data transmission or two-way telemetry and telecontrol. It may be based on a secondary payload of a weather satellite (as in the case of GOES and METEOSAT and others in the Argos system) or in dedicated satellites (such as SCD). The data rate is typically much lower than in satellite Internet access. See also Commercialization of space History of telecommunication Inter-satellite communications satellite List of communication satellite companies List of communications satellite firsts NewSpace Reconnaissance satellite Relay (disambiguation) Satcom On The Move Satellite data unit Satellite delay Satellite space segment Space pollution References Notes Citations Further reading Slotten, Hugh R. Beyond Sputnik and the Space Race: The Origins of Global Satellite Communications (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022);