Satellite Tv Service

In the ancient history of Television there was only one way to receive your programming, line-of-sight, direct-broadcast from the local TV station to the antenna on your roof or the top of your TV. The network broadcasts went out via land lines or, later, microwaves to the local station to be re-broadcast from that local outlet. Even the early (1950's) cable television systems used this system for their antennas that picked up local television broadcasts and then brought them into people's homes via cable.

Network TV was the first to use geostationary satellites to distribute their signal to their local stations. The used the telephone satellites to replace the phone companies network of microwave towers. It wasn't until 1976 when HBO broad cast the "Thrilla in Manilla" professional boxing match to cable television companies that true satellite TV came into actual use.

The signal on the original television satellites' signals were rather weak and required the use of large dish antennas. The C Band dish was very expensive as was the equipment that was needed to transform one that could sent out over the cable system. Even so, the first home receiver for these satellite broadcasts was made by a Stanford University professor in 1976. When he tried to pay HBO for the signals that he intercepted and used at home, the check was returned; HBO was not interested in selling signals to individuals.

The next couple of years saw the rise of more independent television producers that sold direct to cable companies via television satellites. The Christian Broadcasting Network was quickly followed by stations like Turner Broadcasting System. As more such signals were coming down from satellites, the cost of C Band systems started to come down. In 1980 a home receiver system cost $10,000, but by 1985 the cost was down to about $3,000. This was a one time equipment cost; there was no charge for the signals. Broadcasting companies did not have any way to restrict people from using their signals.

This was changed in 1984 when Congress passed the 1984 Cable Act which allowed the broadcast companies to encrypt their signals. The competition then began between the signal providers and their encryption technology and the people that sold decoders to satellite owners. This arms war continued until 1993 when the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) finally brought the situation mostly under control by taking most of the decoder suppliers to court and winning.

At about the same time that the SBCA started cracking down on the decoder providers, people in rural areas started complaining to their Congressmen that they could not get cable television because they lived too far out of town and nobody wanted to string cable out to them. Congress started making noises about requiring cable operators to extend cable further out into rural areas. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, four major cable companies banded together and introduced direct to home satellite broadcasting via a company called Primestar. Primestar and Direct TV, a Hughes company that quickly joined the market, were providing high quality, direct to home signal using higher powered television satellites. The broadcast frequency and higher power combined to allow much smaller dish antennas. They also provided sharper pictures, digital sound, and over 100 channels of programming with no need to re-point the antenna.

Today satellite television is here to stay. The satellite companies have shown that it is easier to adapt their systems to changing broadcast technologies than it is for cable companies to re-string wires or change over to fiber optic cables. As cities and suburbs continue to expand the satellite companies only have to change their marketing while the cable companies have to put in new equipment and wire. As they bring systems on line for high speed internet access via satellite, they will continue to outgrow cable systems in numbers of new subscribers.