Page 27 - Communication Commerce and Power The Political Economy of America and the Direct Broadcast Satellite

14 Communication, Commerce and Power

6 Stephen E. Siwek and Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Copyright Industries in
the US Economy, 1977-1993 (Washington, DC: International Intellec-
tual Property Alliance, January 1995) Tables 2 and 3.
7 If industries producing and disseminating a product that is only part-
ially copyrighted are included, such as architectural services; industries
that distribute copyrighted materials only, such as libraries and trans-
portation services; and related industries that produce and maintain
equipment used exclusively for copyrighted materials, such as computer
and television manufacturers, the scale and relative importance of these
activities increase substantially.
8 Siwek and Furchtgott-Roth, Copyright Industries in the US Economy,
1977-1993, Tables 2, 3 and 6. General comparisons with the US auto-
mobile sector illustrate the significance of this economic strength in
information and communication activities. In 1977, the motor vehicle
industry constituted 4.8% of US GDP. By 1993, it had declined to 3.5%.
In 1977, 947,000 workers were employed in motor vehicle manufactur-
ing. In 1993, only 833,000 worked in this industry. Despite the 'recov-
ery' of the American automobile sector since the early 1980s, the US
trade deficit in manufactured motor vehicle products, from 1987 to
1992, fell by just $12.9 billion (from -$57.6 billion to -$44.7 billion).
Statistics provided by American Automobile Manufacturing Associa-
tion in private correspondence, 1 July 1996, from data generated by the
US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
9 DBS alternatively is referred to as direct-to-home (DTH).
10 Satellites in geostationary orbit are stationary in relation to a location
on earth. This orbit must take place over the equator to ensure that the
satellite's speed equals that of the earth's rotation. To maintain this
orbit, the centrifugal force generated by the satellite pulling it away from
earth is counter-balanced by the earth's gravitational pull. Therefore, as
the satellite's altitude increases, the slower its orbital speed must be.
Because of the necessity of a 24-hour orbit, geostationary locations are
limited to the altitude of 35,786 km. Only some locations at this altitude
are suitable for DBS. To prevent interference, direct broadcast satellites
require predefmed radio frequencies and the satellites ideally are spaced
at least 9 degrees (or over 3,600 km) apart. And while the circumference
of the geostationary orbit is 265,000 km - a distance that certainly helps
prevent overcrowding - some locations are far more preferable than
others since location will largely determine the potential coverage area
on earth. These conditions have made DBS orbital positions and fre-
quency assignments limited resources. See F.A. Wilson, An Introduction
to Satellite Television, rev. ed. (London: Bernard Babani, 1989) pp. 1
and 23.
11 The most probable household technology through which digital broad-
casts and other such communications will be delivered to mass market
consumers are high definition television (HDTV) sets. HDTV utilizes
digital technology to produce a picture quality approximating cinema
film and the sound of a compact disc player.
12 The advantages oftelesatellites in efforts to establish a virtually seamless
global electronic communication system in relation to terrestrial systems