GEO

Short for geosynchronous, or geostationary, earth orbit, a satellite system used in telecommunications. GEOs orbit the earth at 22,300 miles above the earth’s surface. They are tied to the earth’s rotation and are therefore in a fixed position in space in relation to the earth’s surface. The satellite goes around once in its orbit for every rotation of the earth. The advantage of a GEO system is that the transmission station on earth needs to point to only one place in space in order to transmit the signal to the GEO satellite. GEO systems are used for transmissions of high-speed data, television signals and other wideband applications.

Also see MEO and LEO.