These first commercial satellites required large earth receiving stations, most 3-4 meters (9-12 feet) wide, and larger.īecause of the high cost, television networks were the primary broadcast users of these satellite systems. frequency range allocated primarily for television broadcasting by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Three years later, Telesat Canada launched its first satellite, Anik A1, on a Delta rocket, the first commercial, domestic communications satellite in geostationary orbit in the world.Įventually there were three Anik A satellites operating in C-band, the 6/4 GHz. In 1969, the Government of Canada passed the Telesat Canada Act, establishing Canada's own domestic national satellite operator. The 1980s and the 1990s saw a general migration of television signals from ground-based terrestrial networks to orbiting satellites as satellite technology expanded and the number of television channels increased exponentially.
In the 1960s and the 1970s, television networks used terrestrial microwave networks to expand signal reach and audiences. The development and innovation of satellites and satellite technology soon followed on the heels of the development and increase of the number and variety of television channels, both in Canada and internationally.