Satellite Internet access Satellite Internet access Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communications satellites. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high data speeds, with newer satellites using to achieve downstream data speeds up to 506 Mbps. Following the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1, by the Soviet Union in October 1957, the US successfully launched the Explorer 1 satellite in 1958. The first commercial communications satellite was Telstar 1, built by Bell Labs and launched in July 1962. The idea of a geosynchronous satellite—one that could orbit
APT Satellite Holdings 9 satellites giving it satellite coverage across Asia but also into Europe, Africa and the wider APAC region including Australia. It also leased some of the bandwidth of ChinaSat 12 (Apstar 7B). The largest shareholder of APT Satellite Holdings was APT Satellite International for 51.77% shares; APT Satellite International was 42.86% owned by Chinese state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) indirectly, via a non wholly owned subsidiary China Satellite Communications; China Satellite Communications owned an additional 1.45% shares of APT Satellite Holdings via another subsidiary: "China Satellite Communications (Hong Kong)". Moreover, CASC owned an additional 14.29% stake of