SS/L has built nine high-capacity Telstar satellites, which reach more than 85 percent of the populated world.

The fixed-satellite services, broadband-satellite services, and direct broadcast services provided by the satellites, are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from cable and direct-to-home television to Internet applications, to news gathering, distance learning, business TV, and telephony. SS/L-built Telstar satellites began launching in 1997.