The A to Z of wireless

S is for Satellite

Without these lumps of metal orbiting the earth, a significant amount of current and future wireless technology would not be viable.

p>Satellite phones are also extremely useful for people in remoter parts of the world.

The list from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more on each of the entries in the list.

A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

Broadband internet via satellite is another option, with companies offering internet access to oil and gas companies, for example, which are working in remote areas but still need to be online.

With the development of the European-funded Galileo project, satellites are going to become increasingly important. As well as communications, they are increasingly being used in other ways.

The UK government for example plans to use Galileo to track motorists as congestion charging is rolled out across the country over the next few years.

Satellites will also play a key role in the expansion of in-flight comms. With the promise of more in-flight communication tech (GPRS, wi-fi, CDMA, UMTS), satellites will be vital in making these a reality.

And, of course the wonders of Google Earth wouldn't be possible without satellites mapping the surface of the planet.

Check out our best of Google Earth photo story here .