Geostationary (GSO) satellites occupy an orbital position 36,000 km above the earth, and remain in a stationary position relative to the Earth itself. The world's major existing telecommunications and broadcasting satellites fall into this category.

Non-geostationary (NGSO) satellites occupy a range of orbital positions (LEO satellites are located between 700km-1,500km from the Earth, MEO satellites are located at 10,000km from the Earth), and do not maintain a stationary position, but instead move in relation to the Earth's surface.

A geostationary satellite is an earth-orbiting satellite, placed at an altitude of approximately 35,800 kilometers (22,300 miles) directly over the equator, that revolves in the same direction the earth rotates (west to east). At this altitude, one orbit takes 24 hours, the same length of time as the earth requires to rotate once on its axis. The term geostationary comes from the fact that such a satellite appears nearly stationary in the sky as seen by a ground-based observer. BGAN, the new global mobile communications network, uses geostationary satellites.
A non-geostationary satellite is one where its position relative to the Earth is not fixed.