Real-Time Mode
Real-time operations (within seconds) are available whenever a satellite is overhead and are provided locally, nationally and regionally (within the continent-sized satellite footprint). The design of the constellation (the selection of the number of satellites and their orbits) provides near continuous communications for all regions of the earth. Coverage profiles vary based on latitude.

Near Real-Time Mode
Near real-time operations (from seconds to a few minutes) are provided when the sender and receiver are outside the same satellite footprint (such as on different continents great distances apart). In this case, the space and ground network elements work cooperatively for rapid switching of the message from the sender to the receiver. Communication response times vary based on the location of the sender and receiver, the location of the satellites at the time of transmission, and the location of the RF ground stations.

Store and Forward Mode
For messages not requiring immediate delivery, the satellite stores the data for downlink to the appropriate RF ground station or recipient. The large on-board storage capacity allows the system to collect, store and forward literally tens of thousands of messages per satellite per day. This capability is ideal for batch operations when a customer needs data from many user terminals for systems management or utility billing.

This type of service is available with the launch of the first satellite and supports non-time critical services such as non-urgent personal messaging and email, meter reading, environmental data collection, inventory status and other applications.