
46 The Rising Sun in a Developing World
modern satellites, positioned 36,000 kilometres above the equator,
can provide direct TV coverage for a whole continent of consumers.
Such satellites are also suitable for interactive Internet transmis-
sion. Their application is not yet widespread, as operators want first
to amortise the dense cable networks they have already installed.
But by switching to satellite transmission, it is possible to save a
lot of expensive copper cables. Correspondingly, spinning satellites
stayed in use for much longer than we had initially thought; three-
axis stabilised satellites with large deployable solar paddles were
needed ...