But the rising numbers of launched satellites will almost certainly mean more disruption to a society that is growing more reliant on space signals for everyday commerce. At service stations, credit card information is transmitted to a satellite dish on the roof. ATM machines verify passwords via satellite. All of this could be done over ground lines if there were enough capacity. But there isn't, so a wounded satellite system would create endless busy signals that would make the gas lines of the 1970s seem minor.
Satellites are far more efficient than ground lines at dispersing information to numerous locations.
That's because one signal from a satellite can be received atop service stations nationwide. Drivers, stuck behind a traffic accident, can exit into unknown territory knowing the computer will tell them where to go. They will save far more on fertilizer, pesticides and water because the space photos will tell them the precise acreage in need of water and chemicals. Within two years, national radio stations that can be received anywhere with a dish will be available via satellite. By 2002, Teledesic satellites will provide high-speed Internet access.