The development of an operational satellite Internet service provision

The development of a low cost operational satellite Internet service provision (SISP) is presented, which delivers the full functionality of the Internet to clients, who due to their geographical location may only have access to a slow public telephone network. Return packets are broadcast on a satellite TV channel, at data rates of up to 2 Mbps. The clients receive hardware consists of a standard satellite TV receiver (analogue FM or digital MPEG-2) and a special SatLink card which plugs directly into the clients personal computer. Satellite trials have been successfully completed and the system is expected to operate commercially with effect from mid 1997.