Subspace communication Subspace communication ( also called subspace radio or the hyperchannel ) was the primary form of electromagnetic communication used throughout the Federation . By transmission through subspace rather than normal space , subspace communication permitted the sending of data and messages across interstellar distances faster than the speed of light . This made it much more practical than conventional radio . In fact , Starship s rarely even monitored frequencies that traveled at the speed of light . ( , " okudagram " ; ) Subspace communication was mainly used by Starfleet Command to transmit orders to commanding officer s of starships on deep - space assignments . Likewise , the vessels ' commanding officers used subspace communication to relay report s on their various missions back to Starfleet Command , to ask for suggestions , and / or to make requests . ( ; ; ; ; ; " et al . " ) Depending on the actual distance between a vessel and the nearest subspace relay beacon , real - time communication was possible . An example of this is when Starfleet Lieutenant Reginald Barclay contacted the , which was seven light years away from his location on the Jupiter Station , and spoke real - time to the ship ' s counselor , Commander Deanna Troi . ( ) Subspace communications had a varying degree of band frequencies , from upper ( or high - band ) to lower . For example , a diplomatic frequency used by the Vulcan s was on a lower subspace band . ( ; ) Vulcans had been utilizing subspace communications as early as the Earth year 1957 , as their ships were outfitted with subspace transceiver s . ( ) The Treaty of Armens set down EM spectrum communication as one of a number of acceptable means of communications between the Federation and the Sheliak Corporate in case something came up regarding the treaty . ( , " okudagram " ) 22nd century uses . Earth had developed subspace communication as early as 2151 . During this time , however , subspace amplifier s were required in order to maintain contact between Earth and Starfleet vessels over long distances . ( ) Contact with these amplifiers was maintained with a single subspace antenna . If this antenna was damaged , a starship would only be capable of short - range communication . ( ) Orders and reports were not the only communications to and from starships . Personal messages were also sent . The crew of " Enterprise " , for example , received personal messages from friends and family members back on Earth . Captain Jonathan Archer himself received recordings of water polo tournaments in what described as the " subspace mailbag " . ( ) The treaty following the Earth - Romulan War was established entirely by subspace radio . No visual contact between the Human s , the Romulan s , or their allies was ever established . ( ) However , subspace communication was not available to all Earth ships during this period . The " " was not able to communicate via subspace when the ship made contact with Sigma Iotia II in 2168 . Thus , their report was not received by Starfleet Command until a hundred years later . ( ) Before being destroyed , a group of Borg drone s in the Alpha Quadrant sent a subspace message to the Borg in the Delta Quadrant in 2153 . The message would have taken at least two hundred year s to reach its destination and , if received , may have been the way the Borg of the 24th century learned of the existence and location of Earth . ( ) In 2374 , however , " Voyager " was able to communicate almost instantaneously between the Delta and Alpha Quadrants using a system of ancient relay station s , proving that subspace communication signals slow down over time unless amplified by a relay station . ( ) 23rd century uses . By the 23rd century , subspace communication was in wide use throughout the Federation . ( ) During this time , a starship ' s communications officer was required to create subspace log s detailing all messages sent and received . ( ) In some cases , marriages were performed entirely on subspace radio . Magda Kovacs and Ruth Bonaventure were married to two of the three miners on the Rigel XII mining colony via subspace radio in 2266 . ( ) After Fleet Captain Christopher Pike was injured upon being exposed to delta radiation , months of " subspace chatter " emerged regarding the accident . Later , in 2267 , Spock fabricated a subspace message ordering the " Enterprise " to divert to Starbase 11 for the sole purpose of returning Pike , his former CO , to Talos IV where Pike could live out the rest of his days in comfort . During the subsequent court martial , " Enterprise " received subspace transmissions from Talos IV in violation of General Order 7 . ( ) Trelane of Gothos was able to block " Enterprise " s subspace communications using his mirror machine . ( ) The Eminian s employed a subspace transmission unit to keep in contact with the Vendikan s during their computer - fought war . This unit was tied in with Eminiar VII ' s attack computers . ( ) 24th century uses . By the 24th century , subspace communications were handled through subspace relay network s , replacing previous networking methods such as subspace amplifiers . These networks were maintained , at least in part , by various relay stations . ( ) A 24th century professor , Doctor Paul Manheim , was renowned for his work in perfecting subspace communications . ( ) Even with the incredible speeds offered with subspace communications , a message traveling subspace over a distance of 2 , 700 , 000 light year s would have taken over fifty - one years and ten months to reach Federation space in 2364 . ( ) Lore was able to communicate with the Crystalline Entity using subspace communications in 2364 . However , a later encounter with the entity by the required the use of graviton pulses for communication . ( ) Unidentified subspace communications were detected by a class - 1 probe that was sent to Nelvana III . ( ) In 2369 Commander Benjamin Sisko sent a subspace message to Klaestron IV to verify the warrant of Dax . ( ) The same year , Chief O ' Brien received a subspace message from his wife who visited the grain processing center in Lasuma on Bajor . Later , when Odo tried to contact Starfleet Headquarters , he learned that Major Kira had blocked all subspace communication . ( ) In 2373 , prior to the Dominion assault on Deep Space 9 , Odo suggested that all outgoing subspace communication be terminated , in order to prevent security leaks . He prepared false messages to be transmitted at random intervals , so there would be no noticeable drop in DS9 ' s outgoing subspace traffic . ( )