Four major direct-broadcast satellite services already either offer service or are on the drawing board.

Direct-broadcast satellite was once seen as a business that might sign up 10 million customers.

Some direct-broadcast satellite companies are also talking about using line-doubling.

Hughes is continuing to work on a smaller direct-broadcast satellite program.

At each of the three direct-broadcast satellite slots, there are 32 available frequencies.

Q. I have a direct-broadcast satellite dish in my backyard.

Since 1993, wireless phone and direct-broadcast satellite companies have paid for airwaves to upgrade or offer new services.

Do you plan to launch a full-fledged national direct-broadcast satellite provider?

Direct-broadcast satellite company can sell local television commercials, in which case there may be revenue sharing.

It has opened the airwaves to cellular phones and direct-broadcast satellites.

The smaller dishes can receive medium- and high-powered direct-broadcast satellite.

Direct-broadcast satellite television comes to the general public in two distinct flavors - analog and digital.

He likes that direct-broadcast satellites can reach rural viewers who cannot be connected to cable television.

About six million homes have direct-broadcast satellite dishes.

Cable television operators argue, for example, that they now face competition from direct-broadcast satellites and will soon have to defend themselves against the phone companies.

Sky Angel was originally established as a direct-broadcast satellite service with more than 30 channels in its lineup.

But direct-broadcast satellite still has fewer than 2 million subscribers - compared with 61 million for cable.

Some 22,300 miles above the equator, there are three orbital slots authorized for direct-broadcast satellites.

But some direct-broadcast satellite subscribers have found that "digital" cannot necessarily be equated with "good."

Also, in the early 1980's, Comsat sank $193 million into building two direct-broadcast satellites, only to stop the project amid poor market prospects.

Direct-broadcast satellites are designed to deliver cable television programs to customers who do not have access to cable service where they live.

Mr. Aronsohn estimated that direct-broadcast satellite would have 10.5 million subscribers by the year 2000.

Technology and innovation can cause competition to sprout in unlikely places, like direct-broadcast satellite television or new types of wireless telephone service.

A prime selling point of the direct-broadcast satellite services has been their broad menu of sports and movies.

The struggle arises from the limited number of orbital parking spaces that are suitable for direct-broadcast satellites.