Most network and cable programs are transmitted on a series of C-band satellites and some Ku-band satellites. These two types of satellites use different frequencies much as VHF and UHF broadcast TV use different frequencies.

Communications satellites were originally designed for commercial purposes for sending telephone, radio, TV, and other signals across the country and around the world for retransmission to businesses and homes by local telephone companies, TV stations, or cable companies. Enterprisin

In 1997, India, which also feared excessive western influences on its population of almost 1 billion, banned direct-to-home satellite television broadcast services. Amid a furor, which included a lawsuit by News Corp., it declared that the ban would only be temporary, until the government could set up a broadcast authority. A bill to establish the regulatory agency has since been introduced in India's Parliament.

DBS companies venture into new business areas, America Online partnered with DirecTV, Hughes Network Systems, Philips Electronics, and Network Computer to work on developing "AOL TV." DirecTV and AOL planned to work together on a service that would combine digital satellite television programming and AOL TV's enhanced interactive TV Internet service. Hughes Network Services planned to design and build a dual-purpose set-top receiver, complete with an advanced set-top box for AOL TV provided by Philips. Network Computer's contribution was to provide a complete software platform for the new service through the company's TV Navigator software.

Brad Beale, DirecTV's vice president of advanced products, says interactive services fit his company's strategic aims: "With the introduction of our interactive services, we're taking television entertainment to the next level by bringing varying levels of interactivity to a consumer's television viewing experience."

Multi TV watch Need additional receivers$90/each Need additional receivers

As of 1999, there were more than 10 million DBS subscribers in the United States, up from 8 million in 1998 and 6 million in 1997. Thousands of viewers sign on every day, and industry analysts predict more than 12 million by the year 2000. However, all the current providers are in heavy debt and operating at a loss. The providers 'policy of subsidizing the cost of the customers' receiving equipment down to exacerbates the operating losses as low as $100 in order to attract market share. Since none of the receiving systems is compatible, if a provider goes out of business, as AlphaStar has already, customers are left with worthless equipment.

DBS firms are seeking to expand the business by serving new categories of customers.

Some common words found in the essay are:
DVB MPEG-2, USSB Minneapolis, Modern Times, VHF UHF, Satellite DBS, Direct Broadcast, AOL TV/DirecTV, DirecTV EchoStar, Issues Unprofitable, Definition TV, satellite tv, satellite communications, direct broadcast, direct broadcast satellite, cable tv, channel capacity, interactive services, dbs systems, aol tv/directv, dish network, satellite television, broadcast satellite dbs, wall street journal, stereophile guide home, guide home theater,
Approximate Word count = 3888
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)