A satellite modem or sat modem is a modem used to establish data transfers using a communications satellite as a relay.
There is a wide range of satellite modems from cheap devices for home internet access to expensive multifunctional equipment for enterprise use.
A "modem" stands for "modulator-demodulator". A satellite modem's main function is to transform an input bitstream to a radio signal and vice versa. There are some devices that include only a demodulator (and no modulator, thus only allowing data to be downloaded by satellite) that are also referred to as "satellite modems". These devices are used in satellite Internet access (in this case uploaded data is transferred through a conventional PSTN modem or an ADSL modem).
Read more about Satellite Modem: Satellite Link, Features, Internal Structure, Applications
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