Totally theoretically; would it be possible to create a system of satellites that a government (like Iran for example) couldn’t block access to that would allow people to get even a limited form of the internet? If so what would it look like?
Totally theoretically; would it be possible to create a system of satellites that a government (like Iran for example) couldn’t block access to that would allow people to get even a limited form of the internet? If so what would it look like?
I’d think that there are practical limits to jamming. After all, jamming doesn’t just make radio impossible, it just makes the transmitter and receiver need to get closer together (so that their signal strength in that shorter distance is strong enough to overcome the jamming from further away). Most receivers filter out the frequencies they’re not looking for, so any jammer will need to actually be hitting that receiver with that specific frequency. And many modern antenna arrays rely on beamforming techniques less susceptible to unintentional interference or intentional jamming that is coming from a different direction than where it’s looking. Even less modern antennas can be heavily directional based on the physical design.
If you’re trying to jam a city block, with a 100m radius, of any and all frequencies that radios use, that’s gonna take some serious power. Which will require cooling equipment if you want to keep it on continuously.
If you’re trying to jam an entire city, though, that just might not be practical to hit literally every frequency that a satellite might be using.
I don’t know enough about the actual power and equipment requirements, but it seems like blocking satellite communications between satellites you don’t control and transceivers scattered throughout a large territory is more difficult than you’re making it sound.