<P> Unlike geostationary satellites, low and medium Earth orbit satellites do not stay in a fixed position in the sky . Consequently, ground based antennas cannot be easily locked into communication with any one specific satellite . As with GPS, for a receiver the satellites are only visible for a part of their orbit, therefore multiple satellites are necessary to establish a permanent internet connection, with low Earth orbits needing more satellites than medium Earth orbits . The network has to switch data transfer between satellites to keep a connection to a customer . </P> <P> Communications with MEO or LEO satellites that are moving in the sky can be done in three ways: </P> <Ul> <Li> More diffuse or completely omnidirectional ground antennas capable of communicating with one or more satellites visible in the sky at the same time, but at significantly higher transmit power than fixed geostationary dish antennas (due to the lower gain), and with much poorer signal to noise ratios for receiving the signal . </Li> <Li> Motorized antenna mounts with high - gain, narrow beam antennas tracking individual satellites </Li> <Li> Phased array antennas that can steer the beam electronically, together with software that can predict the path of each satellite in the constellation . </Li> </Ul> <Li> More diffuse or completely omnidirectional ground antennas capable of communicating with one or more satellites visible in the sky at the same time, but at significantly higher transmit power than fixed geostationary dish antennas (due to the lower gain), and with much poorer signal to noise ratios for receiving the signal . </Li>

Delays as signals travel to satellites orbiting thousands of miles above the earth