Exploring the Unknown - NASA's History Office

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Conference was done in the Committees, with plenary meetings held only at the beginning
and near the end of the session.
V. Work of the Committees
THE HISTORY OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
Committee I—Structure and Functions
Committee I’s work program, including nine specific topics, is set forth in Annex C.
To facilitate its work, the Committee formed three working groups, each of which prepared
a report, which was reviewed and accepted by the Committee and forwarded to a
plenary meeting for consideration.
Working Group A—The report of Working Group A (Com. I/84, Rev. 1) deals with
the purposes and objectives of INTELSAT and the scope of INTELSAT’s activities. The
Working Group developed a draft Preamble for the definitive arrangements, a draft [6]
article on “Objectives and Purposes” and a draft article on “Scope of Activities.” These
draft articles were adopted unanimously by the ten-country Working Group, subject to
notes and reservations set forth in the report.
The Preamble is substantially similar to the Preamble of the 1964 intergovernmental
Agreement and represents, in substance, the points which the U.S. Delegation sought to
have included. France, supported by Syria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Sweden, reserved
on the question of the use of the word “single” in the phrase “single global system,” arguing
that the term is ambiguous, ignores the presence of other communication satellite systems
in the world, and, therefore, should be eliminated.
The objectives and purposes of the organization as proposed in the draft article
include the creation of a global organization to establish a single global commercial communication
satellite system (France reserving again on “single”) “intended primarily to
provide international public telecommunication services on a commercial basis of high
quality and reliability, and sufficient to provide such services to all areas of the world.” This
statement of objectives and purposes is consistent with U.S. views.
The Working Group submitted a proposed article on the organization’s authorized
scope of activities. The draft article states that INTELSAT: shall provide the space segment
for international public telecommunications services; shall make its global satellite facilities
available for domestic public telecommunications services on a non-discriminatory
basis if this would not affect adversely the provision of facilities for international public
services; may provide facilities in the global space segment for specialized service, presumably
domestic or international in scope, if this would be both technically and economically
acceptable and does not affect adversely the provision of international public
services; may provide separate satellites for domestic public telecommunications services;
and may provide separate satellites for specialized telecommunications services, presumably
both domestic and international in scope, if this would [7] be both technically and
economically acceptable and does not affect adversely the provision of international public
services.
Although the Working Group agreed on this text, there are still several areas of less
than complete agreement. The status and relative priority of domestic traffic is a matter
of particular concern to Denmark, Pakistan, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the
United States, all of which have geographically separated areas between which communication
satellite traffic is or may be contemplated. (The U.S. concern, however, relates to
all domestic traffic.) In connection with “specialized” telecommunication services, France,
among others, expressed concern that INTELSAT may be entering into areas or types of
service better left to other organizations or to national governments to provide. As drafted,
the article was acceptable to the United States.
Working Group B—The report of Working Group B (Com. I/111) deals with the