Daily life for a large portion of the world's population now involves sharing information via mobile phones, personal computers and other electronic communication devices. Space-based technologies, namely communications satellites, enable global telecommunications systems by relaying signals with voice, video and data to and from one or many locations.
While Earth-based alternatives to space technologies are sometimes possible, space-based technology can often reduce infrastructure requirements and offer more cost effective service delivery options. For instance, instead of constructing a series of transmission and relay towers to broadcast television programmes to far-to-reach places, one satellite dish could be provided to a remote community to pick up broadcast signals sent from a satellite.
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United Nations Office at Vienna
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