Subspace transceiver

"The time's come to break transceiver silence long enough to tell Princess Leia about it!"

―Luke Skywalker

A comm slicer using a ship's subspace radio.

A subspace transceiver, also known as a subspace comm, subspace radio, and hypertransceiver, was a standard device used for instantaneous, faster-than-light communications between nearby systems. Similar to its shorter-ranged cousin, the comlink, subspace transceivers relied on energy to broadcast signals. Starships carried these units to broadcast distress signals and other important messages. They used subspace as the communications medium. The subspace transceiver of an Imperial Star Destroyer had a range of 100 light-years.

Usage

Many planetary governments, large corporations, and wealthy individuals maintained private subspace transceivers. Because each radio had a range of up to several light years, governments used these units to connect local planets with a sector-wide communications grid. Although much more powerful than standard comlinks, subspace radios were not nearly as advanced or effective as the HoloNet. Most planets were integrated into local subspace networks that used transceivers aboard deep-space satellites to link dozens of worlds in an instantaneous and continuous flow of data. These networks normally handled news, sports, entertainment, and educational programming. Individuals and corporations purchased broadcast time for private messages, with fees running anywhere from one to twenty credits per ten seconds of transmission time.

Hundreds of subspace networks were scattered across the galaxy, so a message could theoretically be sent across the galaxy by bouncing it across multiple networks. While this process was much more affordable than the HoloNet, messages could be delayed for hours or days as they were routed through different networks. Because each network had different communication protocols, messages could be corrupted or lost, and so it was often cheaper and safer to send long-distance messages by courier ships.

Notable models

• Frequency Agile subspace transceiver
• Sprite subspace transmitter
• Ranger transceiver

Behind the scenes

Subspace radios are the primary form of communication on Star Trek.

Appearances

• Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth
• Star Wars 9: Showdown on a Wasteland World! (First appearance)
• Star Wars 11: Star Search! (In flashback(s))
• Princess Leia, Imperial Servant
• Jedi's Honor (As "subspace radio")
• Otherspace (As "Subspace Radio")
• Riders of the Maelstrom (As "radio")
• The Abduction (As "subspace radio")
• "The Abduction of Crying Dawn Singer" — Classic Adventures (As "subspace radio") (Reprint)
• "Assignment: Decoy" — Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 7
• "Two for the Price of One" — Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters
• "Breaking Free: The Adventures of Dannen Lifehold" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 1
• "For a Few Kilotons More" — Twin Stars of Kira
• Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
• Heir to the Empire
• Children of the Jedi
• The New Jedi Order: Star by Star
• The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way
• The New Jedi Order: The Final Prophecy
• The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force
• Riptide
• Fate of the Jedi: Vortex

Sources

• Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas (as "radio")
• The Star Wars Sourcebook
• Star Wars Campaign Pack (As "Subspace Radio")
• Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition (As "subspace radio")
• Wanted by Cracken (As "subspace radio")
• Star Wars Gamemaster Screen, Revised
• Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded
•  Star Wars Customizable Card Game — Dagobah Limited (Card: Droid Sensorscope) (backup link)
• Galladinium's Fantastic Technology
• The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
• Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition
• Platt's Smugglers Guide
• Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
• Sait’s Rebellion on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual
• Comlink in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Scum and Villainy
• Scavenger's Guide to Droids
• Suns of Fortune

In other languages

• español
• Nederlands