In today’s era, telecommunications is the most important thing in the life of human beings. Today, cellular and mobile communications are getting more and more popular. People want to be more and more in touch with other people.

Television has changed the lives of people and now more interactive themes are being used in the television industry. This is made possible due to the satellite rotating around the earth in different orbits. Satellites are of different types e.g. magnetic fields, communication satellites for providing various kinds of facilities like cellular or mobile communication facilities, broadcasting television channels, Navigation Satellites for GPS navigation purpose.

Weather Satellites for predicting the earth’s weather: The weather satellites are very useful for farmers and fishermen whose livelihood depends on the weather and sometimes with the help of these satellites the lives of many people are saved, particularly of fishermen.

Satellites help oil companies to explore oil and gas resources. The broadcasting companies use satellite technology to broadcast various channels including interactive channels. Satellites help in exploring the space and even our earth. Some of the satellites are so precise that you can even locate an object on earth by virtually watching it. The development in the field of satellites will go on; you never know what kind of satellites we will have in the near future.

Satellites are kept in the correct position by small rocket motors called thrusters. They orbit with their disc aerials pointing towards Earth. When the thrusters ran out of fuel, the satellite eventually drifts out of position and becomes unusable. Satellites are equipped with radio transmitters, radio receivers and electronic circuits for storing data.

Communication satellites provide services such as relaying telephone conversations, transmitting television broadcasts around the world, sending computer data between relay stations on different continents, and facsimile transmission. Information is transmitted using microwaves.

Microwave signals are used in satellite communication because they can travel long distances, without being scattered by particles in the atmosphere and have very high frequencies in the atmosphere. They are also not reflected by the ionosphere. A satellite communication system consists of two systems:

a) Earth satellite stations, b) communication satellites that occupy a special orbit called geostationary orbit.
Example of earth satellite station

The function of an earth satellite station is to transmit and receive information frequency through microwave signals of a certain frequency. It has a large parabolic disc aerial. A communication satellite will amplify these microwave signals, convert them to another frequency and transmit them to other earth satellite stations.

Some satellites are fitted with powerful cameras. These cameras take pictures of earth’s surface and atmosphere. The pictures help in weather forecasts. They also help in making accurate maps of various Earth surfaces.

Communication satellites

They orbit the earth in a day and travel around the earth in the same time the earth spins on its axis. This means that a communication satellite is always above the same place on the earth. These satellites are mainly used for telephone calls and television broadcasts.

Advertisements

This is a new method of sending the message across in order to bring about changes in people’s lifestyles. They are given in newspapers and magazines as well as broadcasted on radio and shown on television. Advertisements are very powerful and influential especially in audiovisual form as shown on TV.

The internet

The Internet is a network of computers. We can get information on any topic through the  internet.
Today, Internet can also be used to do online shopping, payment of bills, Learning etc.

It is a system of exchanging messages by means of computers attached to a network. We can use it 24 hours a day and it is quite cheaper than a telephone call. The message is passed instantly.

Mass media

The forms of communication designed to reach a large number of people at the same time is known as mass communication. The best examples of mass media are newspapers, magazines, video recordings, radio and television.

The first radio couldn’t  transmit sound or speech and was called the "wireless telegraph.” The first public demonstration of wireless telegraphy took place in the lecture theater of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History on August 14, 1894. Today radios are transmitting via satellites too.

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