In contrast to terrestrial television and cable television,  satellite tv  is delivered through communications satellites in orbit around the earth. In parts of the world, satellite tv is the only way one can receive any sort of television signals, due to the limitations of terrestrial transmitters (which need clear lines of sight) and cable television (which requires a lot of infrastructures to set up). The technology has been around for several decades, but only recently has it been priced low enough to make it accessible for many consumers all over the world.