It's not really that different of a purpose. You want at least one satellite visible in the sky, not on the horizon, nearly overhead. A highly elliptical geo tu

It's not really that different of a purpose. You want at least one satellite visible in the sky, not on the horizon, nearly overhead. A highly elliptical geo tundra orbit gives you that overhead pass that a normal geostationary orbit can't give you. US Satellite radio (like Sirius) uses a tundra orbit with multiple satellites to cover the US and some parts of Canada and Mexico. You get max overhead time over the US with at least one satellite at all times so the connection is always good unless things on the ground interfere. Japan is doing the exact same thing as everyone else here.