Q: Why is the Internet important?

A. It is a robust technology that has the potential for providing a common data platform throughout the developed world. The Internet could serve almost as a public utility providing information and data delivery to a worldwide audience.

Q: Will the Internet replace satellite networks as we know them?

A: Not for the foreseeable future. Internet Week recently reported that congestion on the Web made streaming audio and video applications over the terrestrial Web very problematic. The Web can support low level of multimedia delivery but most consumers find the quality objectionable. And, while the quality may improve, most experts feel the congestion will get far worse before it gets better. Technologies such as ADSL offer a large data pipeline, it is important to remember that pipe only addresses capacity between the home or business and the local telco central office. The real crunch comes on the backbone and at Network Access Points (NAPs). Thus, major technology companies such as MicroSoft, Oracle, and Sun use satellite networks for efficient, dependable content delivery.

Q: So, satellite networks and the Internet are mutually exclusive?

A: Not at all. That same Internet Week article notes that satellites could significantly relieve the bandwidth crunch on the terrestrial Internet. We also see that while satellite delivery will never replace your local ISP, it is a cost-effective means for delivering specialized Web-content to homes and businesses. In fact, the Internet can be delivered by satellite direct to your PC, automatically and in very high volume.

Q: Potentially, then, the relationship is that satellites could become almost an extension of the Internet backbone?

A: Yes, that is correct. But there's more. It is a two-way street. One beauty of the Internet is that its magnitude lends itself to tools and protocols that (1) offer tremendous functionality at (2) a very low price. Satellite data technicians were quick to recognize this advantage and leverage existing Internet developments in their own networks. For that reason, you now find standalone satellite networks using video streaming protocols that were originally developed for the terrestrial Internet.

Q: What is the relationship between distance learning applications, the Internet, and satellite networks?

A: There is an obvious affinity between distance learning and the Internet. Because of its bandwidth limitations, though, the Internet lends itself more to text-based instruction than to multimedia. This presents two problems. First, development of text-based instruction is generally time intensive and, second, text-based curriculum lacks the "sparkle" people have come to expect -- and thus tends to foster an elevated churn rate.

Q: Okay, that makes sense. The relationship between satellites and the Internet is that satellite-delivered instruction may take advantage of some Internet protocols, right?

A: Yes, with one important addition. The Internet provides an ideal interactivity platform -- or feedback mechanism -- for distance learning applications delivered via satellite. This allows the Internet to do what it does best (cheap, ubiquitous, non-critical, low volume delivery) and satellites to do what they do best (high speed, high-quality delivery).