Satellite communications
Satellite communications enables the exchange of data anywhere across the globe within the footprints of antennas of the network of communication satellites orbiting the Earth. Such communication is possible even when ground telecommunication infrastructures are non-existent, overloaded or damaged, provided there is a transmitter and/or receiver, thus facilitating health-critical communications under almost all circumstances and situations.
Although we are not always aware of it, a large amount of our day-to-day communications is enabled via satellite rather than ground-based cables. Although such cabling still carries a large portion of communications, it is complemented and in many cases supplemented by new generations of satellites, mainly geostationary, enabling almost total and continuous global coverage. This almost continuous global coverage enables the realization of a plethora of remote healthcare services, such as communications for emergencies, remote health-monitoring, tele-diagnosis, and assistance for search and rescue operations. These, and many other related services, are now possible to implement at almost any remote or under-serviced spot on the Earth, a feat impossible without satellite communications.
