Satellites and cables in the future marketplace and the role of MMIC

After a brief review of the histories of satellites and optical communications systems, the competitive aspects of satellite systems are discussed. Future satellite system architectures are described with highlights on the following technologies: narrow spot beams, fixed and hopping beams, optimized satellite transmissions, demand-assigned transmission, onboard multiplexing/demultiplexing and modulation/demodulation, onboard signal processing, onboard baseband switching, forward error correction, intersatellite links, and mixed services. The role of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) as part of these technologies is summarized.<<ETX>>