Broadcast and Cable Television Service

Broadcast television and cable television service providers transmit signals via satellite, cable network, or over the open airwaves. Satellite television providers send signals from a terrestrial base station to an orbiting satellite. The signals are then transmitted back to Earth and received by individual satellite dishes for decoding. Cable television or community antenna television (CATV) providers transmit radio frequency (RF) signals to subscribers through fiber optic or coaxial cables. Over-the-air (OTA), terrestrial, or broadcast television also transmits radio waves, but in an unencrypted format that requires neither a satellite dish nor a cable subscription. Although OTA programming is still popular in much of the world, broadcast and cable television service providers in North America and Europe are increasingly focused on newer technologies such as high definition television (HDTV).