The orbit-spectrum resource: Market allocation of international property

The author presents a formulation of a market system for the allocation of orbital space to geosynchronous communications satellites. Although based on a simplified model of satellite communications systems, the market system retains sufficient flexibility to be applicable to the allocation problems of the next two decades. Ultimately, the usage rights put forward in this article may need to be modified to include explicitly additional aspects of the orbital-spectrum resource. This formulation, however, includes in the definition of the usage right most of the information actually used today in picking an orbital location for a satellite.     

Regulatory issues in regional satellite communications: Towards a USA - Mexico bilateral agreement

This article examines the issues raised by the drawing up of a bilateral agreement for satellite communications between the USA and Mexico. Mexico has been mainly leasing capacity from INTELSAT and is developing its own Morelos satellite system. Both the USA and Mexico are keen to develop transborder satellite telecommunications services, but before coming to an agreement both parties must arrive at a clear definition of the main concepts that will constitute the agreement. Key concepts being analysed are: services classification, the reciprocity principle, economic harm to INTELSAT, and technical harm to INTELSAT.     

The political economy of satellite business

Satellite communications systems are the outcome of the fusion of big governments, high technology and big business, whose needs they meet. As a major growth sector they are becoming extremely important in economic terms. But satellite communications raise wider issues of the relationships between rich and poor countries and within rich countries. They will crucially influence the location of economic activity and the future prospects for countries in terms of access to information, decision making and income. The article discusses these questions and suggests how Europe might improve its position. It also argues that participation in public policy on satellite communications should be opened to a wider range of parties.     

Communication technology transfer : Impact on economic development

International technology transfer is defined and described from the economics perspective, with emphasis on costs. Its role in economic development is discussed, including its impact on social values and the question of ‘appropriate’ technology for developing countries. Examples are provided for communications technology, particularly in the areas of telecommunications and satellite communications.     

Communications and information resources in Canada

The author details Canada's efforts to maintain unity and national economic and cultural identity through its communication and information resources. The country's dependence on the USA is stressed. Computer communications, broadcasting and publishing industries, telephone and satellite communications, and research and development are covered and several Canadian innovations are introduced. It is concluded that, with appropriate action, Canadian communications and information resources could be used to strengthen national sovereignty.     

EUTELSAT's regional role

Interim EUTELSAT was established in 1977 as the provisional organization for the operation of commercial satellite telecommunications systems for the European region. EUTELSAT's definitive statute is expected to come into force at the beginning of 1984. This article looks at the objectives of EUTELSAT and considers the organization's role as a regional operator within the context of a global satellite communications system.     

Satellite communications : US policy considerations

Regulatory decisions have controlled the possible technical alternatives in the use of artificial satellites, for both domestic and international telecommunications, since the enactment by the US Congress of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962. At the same time, advancements in technology have caused satellite systems to play a larger role in telecommunications. An updating of the 1934 Communications Act would allow for a more definitive statement of national satellite policy and for a revised regulatory standard. This article reviews some of the principle factors which have influenced communications satellite policy, and offers additional issues for consideration that can affect the development of communications satellite markets, systems and services.     

A DOMSAT for Australia: Communications planning under strain

The events leading up to the announcements of a domestic communication satellite for Australia are outlined. The implications of the satellite decision are discussed in relation to planning for the communications infrastructure as a whole. It is suggested that the communication satellite debate has revealed weaknesses in the existing policy planning process and that these will be exacerbated by the satellite decision unless appropriate strategies are developed.     

International legal norms governing development of the orbit/spectrum resource

Resource development is the process of dispersing concentrated values. International law relating to resource development establishes objectives for value dispersion and puts forward rules by which these objectives may be attained. The geostationary orbit and the electromagnetic spectrum are two store-houses of value, or resources, coming under increasingly vigorous international control. The author first describes geostationary satellite communications as the dispersion of values concentrated in the geostationary orbit and in the electromagnetic spectrum. He then addresses the objectives of international satellite communications policy and the relative effectiveness of relevant legal rules in implementing those objectives.     

Implications of deregulating satellite communications

Following the divestiture of AT&T, US policy makers have focused attention on means of increasing competition in international telecommunications markets. Several policy changes have been made by the FCC to deregulate international satellite communications. International concern has been aroused by the Reagan administration approval of alternative international satellite systems. INTELSAT and PTTs fear the systems will permit multinational corporations to bypass them, shifting the cost burden onto individual users and developing nations. While there are risks to be avoided, the potential effects of the private international satellite systems have been exaggerated by supporters and opponents.     

The use of picturephone service in a hospital

A Picturephone® two way visual communications system was operational from March 1973 to April 1976 at the Bethany-Garfield Hospital in Chicago, and achieved metered usage as high as 1800 calls per month. To assist the AT&T Marketing Department in its visual communications market exploration programme, interviews of Bethany-Garfield personnel who had access to the system were conducted. When asked to rate a number of individual features of the system, the high and medium users rated the fast access feature above all others. Thus the main reason for the high usage of the Picturephone system appears to have been less related to its visual communications feature than to its ‘hot-line’ capability to reach contacts quickly.     

The Pacific Islands. Policy options for telecommunications investment

The Independent Commission for World-Wide Telecommunications Development (Maitland Commission) reported that telecommunication networks, including public telephone systems, are an infrastructure which aids economic development throughout the world. The Commissions objective is to bring the majority of the world's population within easy access of a telephone and, in time, other communications services. Development in the Pacific Islands region is slowed by a lack of efficient communications. The islands are spread over 29 million square kilometers of ocean and extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. Pacific Island Nations (PINs) have problems of foreign exchange, skill shortages, and poor credit terms. Telecommunications infrastructure audits showed the overall regional teledensity of 3 telephones per 100 population. The individual countries vary form 8.3 in Fiji to 1.5 in Papua New Guinea and 25.2 in New Zealand. The population of the developing island countries is in mostly rural areas where there is a chronic shortage of telephones. The constraints on radio systems can be overcome with satellite technology. The new technologies are coming on the market faster than these countries can afford to handle them. By using satellite technology and sharing facilities PINs can greatly reduce the cost of telecommunications systems. Fiber optic cables will be used to carry large volumes of traffic over major routes while satellites can be used for a array of services for the smallest PIN nation to the largest route rim country. Work is being done to standardize the equipment specifications and to develop policies for the coordination of regional telecommunications training. To further facilitate communications development in this area, changes need to be made in international funding priorities for development, and recommendations by the Maitland Commission must be taken seriously.     

Direct broadcast satellites in Japan: A case study in government-business partnerships

The following case study examines government-business partnerships in the planning and implementation of direct broadcast satellite (DBS) communications in Japan. The country's decision to launch the world's first DBS system demonstrated a national commitment to advance the cause of a highly sophisticated technology. For Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications DBS was clearly a high-profile project that would invite both national and international attention. Less clear were the unintended consequences that would result from planning a new system of broadcast communication that involved balancing the unique requirements of a non-profit corporation in the form of NHK and Japan's five major commercial broadcasters.     

Satellite data networks for national development

This article assesses the telecommunications needs of developing countries and the possibility of using satellite communications to meet those needs. Three primary technological factors provide a guide to this application: small inexpensive satellite earth stations can provide a solution to the problem of limited ground facilities; satellites can operate in a broadcast and multiple acess mode as well as in a conventional point- to-point mode; and, the capacity required to support a single interactive digital terminal is about 1000 times less than that required to support a voice telephone and abput 1 000 000 times less than that required for video transmission. These factors lead to consideration of new forms of national networks based on satellites, microprocessors and small earth stations which do not follow the North American model. These new advanced forms of networks can co-exist with conventional voice networks, and can provide a realistic alternative for consideration by national telecommunications authorities.     

Direct broadcasting by satellite in the USA: Interim regulations and implications

Technological advances in satellite communications and changes in regulatory philosophy in the USA came together at the end of the 1970s to foster a new medium — direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS). DBS, similar to other new television distribution systems, holds the promise not only of serving the people who cannot be reached by conventional television systems, but also of offering diverse programming to existing television audiences. However, the potential problems raised by the FCC's interim DBS regulations might jeopardize the economic viability and the development of future DBS systems in the USA, and might affect the interests of DBS audiences.     

Universal service issues in converging communications environments: the case of the UK

Convergent trends in telecommunications and broadcasting technologies and markets have called forth a re-examination of universal service provision in the communications sector and present an opportunity to update and re-formulate its provision. In the UK, proposed changes announced in the 2000 UK Communications White Paper and subsequent 2003 Communications Act, whilst still emphasising the importance of guaranteeing universal access to stipulated key public services and content across communications, suggest a closer relationship between economic and content regulation will be developed. This paper argues that whilst it is important to consider issues of economic efficiency in the communications sector, this should neither obscure nor compromise the need to create progressive, socially responsible, universal service reflective of the requirements of 21st century users. Crucial to the delivery of such a system in the UK is an actively supportive government policy backdrop and the development of the new convergent regulator the Office of Communications as an effective regulatory force.     

Controlling unwanted communications to the home

A greater volume of communications into the home increases concerns about offensive messages and unwanted solicitations. The author presents legal, regulatory and technical approaches to giving individuals more control over the communications they receive through the mails, over the telephone network, via broadcast television, and from cable TV. Technical means for allowing greater subscriber control are available, but they generally receive low priority in system design. Although receivers' rights to avoid unwanted communications may conflict with senders' rights to free speech, the author favours placing more choice and responsibility on the recipient.     

Sources, characteristics and effects of emerging technologies: Research opportunities in innovation

Diverse technological developments across information technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and satellite communications technology are dramatically altering industry landscapes, with important economic and policy implications. Not surprisingly, therefore, managers are challenged to develop strategies to cope with the threats posed by emerging technologies and leverage the opportunities posed by them. Indeed, there is growing anecdotal evidence that firms' inabilities to cope with emerging technologies have produced high product and firm failure rates.From an academic perspective, I argue that emerging technologies have important distinctive features that have not been examined in current theory in marketing, and specifically, in organizational innovation. In this article, I identify several research questions that emerge from the sources, characteristics and effects of emergent technologies in the area of organizational innovation. Insights generated from such a line of inquiry have the potential to broaden the canvas of innovation theory and provide valuable insights to managers who confront these onerous challenges on a daily basis.     

The NGA and the impact of new technology

In the past the NGA dominated the communications world of paper and ink. This domination is being undermined by the micro-processor revolution which is creating an alternative communications world based on electronic devices and in which the NGA presently has little influence. Here the author analyses the strategies and policies adopted by the NGA to retain its influence in the 'shrinking'communications world of paper and to gain some influence in the new communications.     

Galileo used to live here.: Tuscany Hi Tech: the network and its poles

The paper outlines how networking between smaller companies and larger companies is evolving and how these changes need to be incorporated into policies for regional economic development. The strengths and weaknesses of the Tuscan region are outlined and on the basis of this situation a strategy was devised to exploit its scientific and technological resources. A particular feature of the strategy is the establishment of a new optical fibre communications system linking three university centres, Pisa, Florence and Siena.