I was browsing the interwebs a while ago and found this interesting communications network design that works around the annoying orbital drift bug (is it a bug? I'm not sure) by utilising four comsats in eccentric orbits instead of the normal synchronous orbits. I couldn't find where I saw the original diagram, so I knocked this up in five minutes on Paint - I hope it gets the point across.
(Note that this is looking at the planet from directly above the north or south poles).
There's a few things I was wondering about this setup:
1. What is the probability that you are in contact with the space centre?
2. How likely is it that you are in contact if the orbits are more eccentric or less eccentric?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this setup?