Hadjitheodosiou, Michael H.Ephremides, AnthonyFriedman, Daniel E.Satellites are well suited for broadband communications. In this paperwe consider the special features of satellite systems, some of thebroadband applications that are well-suited for satellites and someof the technologies which make possible broadband satellitecommunications, as well as the research programs that led to theirdevelopment. We describe how such technologies, and other factors,have contributed to the evolution of broadband satellite systems,and discuss some of the challenges in establishing such systems.We finish by offering some concluding remarks on the role ofsatellites for broadband access.<P><Center><I>The research and scientific content in this material hasbeen published in <B>Computer Networks,</B> vol. 31, pp. 353-378, 1999.</I></Center>en-USsatellite communicationsbroadband accessmultiple accessInternet accesshybrid networkson-board processingerror controlKa-bandV-bandIntelligent Signal Processing and Communications SystemsTechnical Report