Page 82 - Communication Commerce and Power The Political Economy of America and the Direct Broadcast Satellite

70 Communication, Commerce and Power

In general, the physical limitations of satellite transmissions involve two
core factors: first, the power of the radio-wave signal; and, second, the
bandwidth available for transmission. In North, Central and South Amer-
ica, high-power DBS positions now have available 500 MHz of the Ku
band (12.2-12.7 GHz) for downlink transmissions. This bandwidth may
be subdivided into 'channels' - perhaps 24 MHz per channel. Again,
depending on the needs of the user, space on this channel again can be
subdivided. A standard television signal, for instance, now requires at least
6 MHz of bandwidth. In digital form, the uncompressed data rate (bps)
needed to transmit the standard North American NTSC television signal is
90 million bps, whereas a high definition television (HDTV) transmission
requires over 200 million bps. Other uncompressed data rates, in order of
bps requirements, are as follows: video teleconferencing - from 64,000 to
1.5 million bps; telephone voice services - 64,000 bps; electronic mail -
from 1,200 to 64,000 bps; and for a digital alarm system- 100 bps. Walter
S. Baer, 'New Communications Technologies and Services,' in Paula R.
Newberg (ed.), New Directions in Telecommunications Policy, vol.2 (Dur-
ham, NC: Duke University Press, 1989) p. 162.
53 Lessing, 'Cinderella in the Sky,' pp. 131 and 201-2.
54 Ibid., p. 198.
55 Dante R. Fascell, 'Modem Communications and Foreign Policy.'
Report by the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs (unpublished: 13 June 1967) p. 3R.
56 Ibid, p. 5R.
57 See US Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee
on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments. Hearings on
'Satellite Broadcasting: Implications for Foreign Policy.' 91st Cong., 1st
sess., 13, 14, 15, 22 May 1969.
58 For more on this experiment (referred to as SITE- Satellite Instruc-
tional Television Experiment) and subsequent developments, see ibid.,
pp. 14-18; Vijay Menon, 'The Case of India,' in Meheroo Jussawalla,
Tadayuki Okuma and Toshihiro Araki (eds), Information Technology
and Global Interdependence (New York: Greenwood Press, 1989)
pp. 281-5; and P.C. Chatterji, Broadcasting in India (New Delhi: Sage,
1991) pp. 126-33.
59 Larry Martinez, Communication Satellites: Power Politics in Space
(Dedham, Mass.: Artech House, 1985) p. 30.
60 'Satellite Broadcasting: Implications for Foreign Policy,' Report tabled
in Hearings before US Congress, 13 May 1969, pp. 3R-6R. Also,
personal interview with John Sigmund, Senior Economist, Division of
Service Industries, International Trade Administration, US Department
of Commerce, 10 September 1992, Washington, DC.
61 See US Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee
on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments. Hearings on
'Foreign Policy Implications of Satellite Communications,' 91st Cong.,
2nd sess., 23, 28, 30 April 1970, pp. 69-71. Also, Hearings on 'Satellite
Broadcasting: Implications for Foreign Policy,' pp. 138-40.
62 See testimony by Richard N. Gardner, President Kennedy's former
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization