GEO is an acronym for Geosynchronous, or Geostationary,
Earth Orbit. It is a
satellite system used in
telecommunications. A GEO satellite orbits the earth at about 22,300 miles above the surface of the earth. They are tied to the earth's rotation. Therefore, they are in a fixed position in relation to the earth's surface.
The advantage of a GEO system is that the transmission station on earth only needs to point to one place in space to transmit the signal to the GEO satellite. GEO systems are used for transmissions of high-speed data, television signals and other wideband applications.
See MEO and LEO satellite for information on different types of earth orbiting satellites.