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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is troubleshooting a satellite…
A technician is troubleshooting a satellite internet connection that has high latency and frequent disconnections. The dish is installed on a roof with a clear view of the sky. What is the most likely cause of the high latency?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the candidate's understanding that latency in satellite internet is a physical limitation of distance, not a configuration or interference issue, and the trap here is that candidates may confuse symptoms like disconnections (which can have many causes) with the root cause of high latency.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The signal has to travel a long distance to the satellite and back.
Satellite internet inherently suffers from high latency because the signal must travel to a geostationary satellite approximately 35,786 km above the equator and back. This round-trip distance of roughly 70,000 km, even at the speed of light, results in a minimum latency of about 240 ms, which is far higher than terrestrial connections. Frequent disconnections can also occur due to atmospheric conditions, but the high latency is a direct consequence of the physical distance the signal must traverse.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The satellite dish is not grounded properly.
Why it's wrong here
Improper grounding primarily poses electrical safety hazards and protects equipment from power surges or lightning strikes by providing a safe path for excess electrical current. While crucial for system integrity and longevity, it does not influence the speed at which radio frequency signals propagate through space. Latency is a function of signal travel time, not electrical safety or equipment protection.
- ✗
The modem is outdated.
Why it's wrong here
An outdated modem might struggle with current data transfer rates, leading to slower download/upload speeds or intermittent connectivity due to older hardware or software standards. However, the inherent latency in satellite internet is a physical limitation imposed by the vast distance the signal must traverse to and from a geostationary satellite. The modem's processing capabilities or age cannot alter this fundamental propagation delay.
- ✓
The signal has to travel a long distance to the satellite and back.
Why this is correct
Geostationary satellites orbit approximately 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above the Earth's equator. A signal must travel from the user's dish to the satellite, then down to a ground station (Network Operations Center), and then back along the same path. This results in a total round-trip distance of nearly 90,000 miles, which, even at the speed of light, introduces a significant and unavoidable propagation delay, manifesting as high latency.
- ✗
There is interference from nearby cellular towers.
Why it's wrong here
Cellular towers transmit and receive signals within specific frequency bands (e.g., UHF, L-band, S-band) that are allocated differently from the Ku-band or Ka-band frequencies typically used for satellite internet communications. Due to this distinct frequency separation, signals from nearby cellular towers are highly unlikely to cause direct electromagnetic interference or increase the propagation delay (latency) of a satellite internet connection. While extreme, localized interference on the same frequency could degrade signal quality, it would not inherently increase signal travel time.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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