High-throughput satellite

A high-throughput satellite (HTS) is a communications satellite which provides more throughput than a classic fixed service satellite (FSS). An HTS provides at least twice, though usually 20 times or more, throughput for the same amount of allocated orbital spectrum, thus significantly reducing cost-per-bit. ViaSat-1 and EchoStar XVII (also known as Jupiter-1) provide more than 100 Gbit/s of capacity, which is more than 100 times the capacity offered by a conventional FSS satellite. When it was launched in October 2011, ViaSat-1 had more capacity (140 Gbit/s) than all other commercial communications satellites over North America combined.