Salt Creek Earth Station is a satellite
ground station located approximately 7 miles (11 km) southwest of
Arbuckle,
California. It is licensed to Xaba Ranch, LLC, a
real estate holding company.[1][2][3] The site was formerly licensed to
AT&T, for whom it carried much of the United States' telecommunications to
Asia and the
Pacific Rim.[4][5][6][7] AT&T opened the facility in May 1990 with three 60-foot (18 m) wide dishes each aimed at different satellites over the
Pacific Ocean.[8] According to
James Bamford, the
National Security Agency uses the facility to capture and monitor
satellite telecommunications traveling in and out of the United States.[4][9]