SDSL offers equally broad bandwidth both ways. The same wire feeding cable TV into your living room is capable of providing Internet access at 10 mbps. Unlike DSL, cable modem access is not available in symmetric form, so upstream connectivity is typically limited to the 200 kbps to 2 mbps range. And because cable modem access is configured on a network neighborhood, the rate at which you connect depends on the number of other cable modem users in your area. Data transmissions are beamed down from a satellite orbiting 22,200 miles above Earth, then translated and decoded upon entering a 21-inch dish.
Satellite transmissions are one-way.