of Satellite The traditional applications for satellites have been to serve remote areas where ter- restrial facilities were not available; to provide the capability for point-to-multipoint communications for cost-efficiencies; to provide disaster-recovery support; to pro- vide remote monitoring and control; to facilitate two-way data messaging, vehicle Satellite tracking, mobile communications, and maritime and air navigation; to distribute TV, video, and multimedia; and to provide for defense communications Two recent applications of new consumer satellite services are automotive nav- igation and digital audio radio, such as the SIRIUS system, with which you can receive more than 100 radio stations throughout the footprint of the satellite. Not only do you receive the music or programming you want, but you can immediately determine who the artist is and what CD it is from, and you can even compile a customized version for yourself. By now everyone is at least aware of the benefits of automotive systems like GM's OnStar, which not only provide navigational assis- tance but also support vital emergency services, with the potential to make the dif- ference between life and death. Satellite is being used in a number of other applications. Use of satellite in Internet backbones is another emerging application because of the huge growth in traffic levels. Terrestrial facilities can't handle all this traffic alone, SO we have to rely on some satellite backbones, especially to reach into places such as Africa, Antarctica, and Latin America. Additional emerging applications include Internet access, data caching, and multimedia. The farther you are from the point at which an application resides, the worse the experience you have. If we put applications on a satellite, everybody within the footprint is always only one hop away, thereby greatly reducing the latencies, or delays, encountered in ultimately drawing on the content. Again, what may make a difference here is whether it's an interactive application and what orbit