Page 217 - Communication Commerce and Power The Political Economy of America and the Direct Broadcast Satellite

Conclusion 207

Union structures thus accommodated ways of imagining and poten-
tially constructing a new world order that could undermine wealth
and power opportunities stemming from new communication and
information technology applications. But unlike the free flow of
information, Western corporations could not conceive a realistic alter-
native to the Union. By the mid-1980s, the ITU was understood to be
the necessary mediator of transnational telecommunications develop-
ments. Without the option of conservative entrenchment or an out-
right assault (as was leveled against UNESCO), the United States was
compelled to focus on restructuring the ITU in ways that would
produce favorable results in future Union-mediated conflicts.
Until the 1970s, the ITU had been a forum for engineers appointed
by nation states. To put it crudely, Union personnel were the garage
mechanics ofinternational telecommunications, fixing frequency allo-
cations and technical standards in accordance with the aspirations of
public sector PTTs and private sector monopolies. Through threats
tabled by the American state on behalf of mostly US-based corpora-
tions, the aggressive development of GATT negotiations on services,
and the more general post-Fordist adoption of neo-liberal policy
reforms, direct private sector participation in Union decision making
has become the norm and the need to accommodate business and
trade developments have become formally entrenched in ITU depart-
ment mandates and activities. Other international organizations, such
as the World Bank, have complemented this transformation through
the granting of financial and technical assistance to countries that
recognize the 'common sense' of an open market path to develop-
ment. In the late 1990s, the ITU again has become the universally
recognized 'neutral' mediator of international telecommunications. 15

8.4 DBS AND THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

At least until the end of 1990s, DBS will be the most cost-effective
means of delivering electronic transmissions directly into homes. A
US$1-billion investment in cable enables a company to reach several
million households, whereas the same investment in DBS provides
access to an entire continent. In the United States, the introduction
16
of a mass consumer high-power DBS system is under way due-to a
number of competitive, technological and regulatory developments. In
conjunction with the success of Star TV in Asia and the Astra system
in Europe, the early success of DBS in North America - the most