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VSAT stations have varying coverage and capacity. The amount of data that a satellite broadband company can handle is measured in  megabits per second (which is equivalent to one million bits of data per second) or gigabits per second (equivalent to one billion bits per second). 

Around 300 communications satellites are positioned in the geostationary orbit, directly above the equator, which are 2-3 degrees apart. These satellite circle Earth at the same speed. When viewed from the ground, these satellites can be spotted in a fixed location since they follow Earth’s rotation.

There are three factors to consider when evaluating the capacity of satellite broadband carriers. Transponder bandwidth (MHz), downlink EIRP power (dBW), uplink G/T (dBK) and sensitivity (dBW/^m2), which are sold to satellite Internet carriers. 

There are several factors that affect the conversion of bandwidth (MHz) to information data rate: modulation method (e.g BPSK, QPSK, 8-QAM or 16-QAM), the type of FEC (e.g. Turbo Code, Low Density Parity Check, Viterbi, Reed Soloman or combination thereof), and the forward error correction code. Dish size can also affect overall capacity. 

The maximum coverage of a satellite is one-third of Earth, so a satellite above India’s equator can cover Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan. Spot beams are aimed at particular areas to aid in small dish operations.

Satellite broadband requires a small dish (60cm to 3.7m diameter) with a transmit module and receiver module. An indoor device processes the signals and prepares the signals or transmission, usually in very brief TDMA bursts every time the user clicks the mouse.

Satellite broadband providers charge customers based on a bit rate consumed. For instance, 512k download /64k upload broadband shared 20:1 can cost as much as $202 per month per VSAT customer terminal. This service is good for 1 or 2 PCs per site. There is also a fair usage policy among satellite broadband carriers. For instance, those who exceed the maximum bit rate may be penalized with slower rate in the next hours of usage. For those who use satellite broadband for VoIP, the upload and download capacity should be equally sufficient.  

Satellite broadband is ideal for mobile business travellers and remote operations such as exploration, mining, surveillance and field studies. Australia satellite broadband has been proven to be indispensable in industries like airlines, banks, shipping and broadcasting. Despite technical issues like latency and cost, satellite broadband can offer a strong data recovery and back-up connectivity solutions for critical business functions.k here to edit.