Fixed-satellite service (FSS, or fixed-satellite radiocommunication service) is – according to ''article 1.21'' of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU)

Radio Regulations Radio regulation refers to the regulation and licensing of radio in international law, by individual governments, and by municipalities. International regulation The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the Unit ...

(RR) – defined as ''A radiocommunication service between

earth station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...

s at given positions, when one or more

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

s are used; the given position may be a specified fixed point or any fixed point within specified areas; in some cases this service includes satellite-to-satellite links, which may also be operated in the inter-satellite service; the fixed-satellite service may also include

feeder link A feeder link is – according to ''Article 1.115'' of the International Telecommunication Union´s (ITU) ITU Radio Regulations (RR)ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems – Article 1.115, definition: ''feeder link'' – ...

s for other space radiocommunication services.''

Classification

This ''radiocommunication service'' is classified in accordance with ''ITU Radio Regulations'' (article 1) as follows:
Fixed service (article 1.20) * Fixed-satellite service (article 1.21) * Inter-satellite service (article 1.22) * Earth exploration-satellite service (article 1.51) ** Meteorological-satellite service (article 1.52) ;

Frequency allocation

The allocation of radio frequencies is provided according to ''Article 5'' of the ITU Radio Regulations (most recent version, Edition of 2020). In order to improve harmonisation in spectrum utilisation, the majority of service-allocations stipulated in this document were incorporated in national Tables of Frequency Allocations and Utilisations which is within the responsibility of the appropriate national administration. The allocation might be primary, secondary, exclusive, and shared. *primary allocation: is indicated by writing in capital letters (see example below) *secondary allocation: is indicated by small letters *exclusive or shared utilization: is within the responsibility of administrations ; Example of

frequency allocation Frequency allocation (or spectrum allocation) is the part of spectrum management dealing with the designation and regulation of the electromagnetic spectrum into frequency bands, normally done by governments in most countries. Because radio pr ...

Use in North America

FSS – is as well the official classification (used chiefly in North America) for geostationary

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a Transponder (satellite communications), transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a Rad ...

s that provide broadcast feeds to television stations, radio stations and broadcast networks. FSSs also transmit information for

telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunications services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is ...

telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

s, and

data communications Data communication, including data transmission and data reception, is the transfer of data, signal transmission, transmitted and received over a Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communication chann ...

References

{{Radiocommunication services ITU Radiocommunication services ITU Satellite broadcasting