ency bands used communications are C-band, Ku-band, Ka-band, and L-band. C-Band C-band transmits uplink around the 6GHz range and downlink around the 4GHz range. The advantage of C-band, as compared to other bands, is that because it operates in the lower frequency bands, it is fairly tolerant of adverse weather con- ditions. It has larger waveforms, so it doesn't suffer as much disturbance as do smaller waveforms in the presence of precipitation, for instance. The disadvantage of C-band is that its allocation of frequencies is also shared by terrestrial systems. So selecting sites can take time because you have to contend with what your neighbors have installed and are operating. Licensing can take time, as well. Ku-Band Ku-band was introduced in the early 1980s, and it revolutionized how we use sat- ellite communications. First, it operates on the uplink at around 14GHz and on the downlink at around 11GHz. The key advantage of Ku-band is that this frequency band allocation is usually reserved specifically for satellite use, so there are no con- flicts from terrestrial systems. Therefore, site selection and licensing can take place much more rapidly. Second, because it doesn't interfere with terrestrial systems, it offers portability. Therefore, a Ku-band dish can be placed on top of a news van or inside a briefcase, and a news reporter can go to a story as it is breaking to broad- cast it live and without conflict from surrounding systems. The disadvantage of Ku-band is that it is a slightly higher frequency allocation than C-band, SO it can experience distortions under bad climactic conditions (e.g., humidity, fog, rain). Satellite Ka-Band The new generation of satellite-the broadband satellites-operates in the Ka-band. The key advantage of Ka-band is that it offers a wide frequency band: about 30GHz uplink and about 20GHz downlink. The difference between 20GHz and 30GHz for Ka-band is much greater than the difference between 4GHz and 6GHz for C-band. This expanded bandwidth means that Ka-band satellites are b