A satellite modem or satmodem is a modem used to establish data transfers using

a communications satellite as a relay.

There is a wide range of satellite modems from cheap devices for home Internet a
ccess to expensive multifunctional equipment for enterprise use.
A "modem" stands for "modulator-demodulator". A satellite modem's main function
is to transform an input bitstream to a radio signal and vice versa. There are s
ome devices that include only a demodulator (and no modulator, thus only allowin
g data to be downloaded by satellite) that are also referred to as "satellite mo
dems." These devices are used in satellite Internet access (in this case uploade
d data is transferred through a conventional PSTN modem or an ADSL modem).