Abstract
A satellite communication system integrates a satellite and an earth station. Technically, it is analogous to a terrestrial microwave relay system. Both systems send signals from a transmitting site to a relay station in the middle, where the signals are then amplified and relayed to a remote receiving site. The main feature of the satellite system is that the terrestrial repeater in the middle is replaced by a satellite in space which circles around the Earth at varying altitudes from more than several hundred kilometres to several tens of thousands of kilometres above the ground.
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References
While the ITU is mainly concerned with maintaining the efficiency of satellite communications, both the United Nations and UNESCO are involved to a certain extent with the content of the information that is carried by communication satellites. (The UN is also involved in issues dealing with the placement of objects in space.)
Portions of this chapter are an adaptation of the authors contribution to Donna A. Demac, George A. Codding Jr, Heather E. Hudson and Ram S. Jakhu, Equity in Orbit: The 1985 Space WARC, International Institute of Communications (IIC), London, 1985.
See International Telecommunication Convention, Nairobi, 1982, ITU, Geneva, 1983, Annex 2, paragraph 2015.
See George A. Codding Jr and Anthony M. Rutkowski, The International Telecommunication Union in a Changing World, Artech House, Dedham, MA, 1982, Chapter One. For additional information on the older history of the ITU see the authors International Telecommunication Union, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1952 (reprinted in 1972 by Arno Press).
The only exception to the simple majority vote involves the admittance of new members to the ITU. If the applicant is not already a member of the United Nations it must receive the approval of two-thirds of the ITUs membership.
For the details of the ITUs structure, see the International Telecommunication Convention, Nairobi, 1982, Articles 5 through 12.
Ibid., Article 7.
Ibid., Article 8, 4. (4).
Ibid., Article 9, 1. (3).
In 1984, the IFRB had 137 in its secretariat, the CCITT 43, and the CCIR 26. See ITU, Report on the activities of the International Telecommunication Union in 1984, Geneva, 1985, p.125.
The work of the ITU is financed mainly by contributions from the member countries. The amount that each member contributes depends on the contributory class that it chooses, ranging from a high of 40 units down to a minimum of 1/8 unit.
As quoted in Codding The International Telecommunication Union, p. 86.
Ibid.
See Radio Regulations, Edition of 1982, ITU, Geneva, 1982, Article 12, paragraph 1, (1) c.
In the case of an unfavourable finding, there are a number of provisional and appellate procedures which could result in an eventual entry of that notification in the Master Register with full or secondary rights.
See Codding and Rutkowski, pp. 262265.
The first plan, the Geneva Plan, allotted frequencies to European broadcasting stations on the basis of: 1) existing services; 2) size of country; 3) population density; and 4) economic development. See Codding and Rutkowski, pp. 26768.
Other regions followed the lead of the Europeans and allotment plans were created for a number of additional terrestrial radio services, including both aeronautical and maritime mobile, but an attempt to do the same for all other frequencies that make them likely to cause international harmful interference was unsuccessful. Such a plan was suggested by the United States at the ITUs first post-war conference held in Atlantic City in 1947, but for a number of reasons, inlcuding international politics, it did not become a reality. See Codding and Rutkowski, pp. 3135.
See Radio Regulations, ITU, Geneva, 1959, Article 5 and Recommendation No. 36.
See E.D. Ducharme, R.R. Bowen and M.J.R Irwin, The Genesis of the 1985/1987 ITU World Administrative Radio Conference on the Use of the Geostationary Satellite Orbit and the Planning of Space Services Utilizing It, in Annals of Space Law, Volume VII, 1982, p. 265.
As quoted in Milton S. Smith III, Space WARC 1985 Legal Issues and Implications, LL.M. thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, 1984.
The official title being the World Administrative Radio Conference for Space Communications, Geneva, 1971.
For details of the procedure, see Radio Regulations, Edition of 1982, Articles 11 and 13.
See Final Acts of the World Administrative Radio Conference for Space Communications, ITU, Geneva, 1971, Resolution Spa 2–1 and Recommendation Spa 2–1.
See Radio Regulations, Edition of 1982, Article 30, Section II.
DuCharme, Bowen and Irwin, p. 267.
International Telecommunication Convention, Nairobi, 1982, ITU, Geneva, 1982, Article 33 (2).
See Anthony M. Rutkowskis account of the discussions in Six Ad-Hoc Two: The Third World Speaks its Mind, in Satellite Communications, Volume 4, March 1981, p.23.
See Radio Regulations, Edition of 1982, Resolution No. 3.
For frequency management purposes, the ITU divides the world into three regions: Region 1 includes Europe, Africa and the USSR; Region 2, the Western hemisphere; and Region 3, Asia and Australasia.
See Final Acts of the World Administrative Radio Conference for the Planning of the Broadcasting Satellite Service in Frequency Bands 11.7 to 12.2 GHz (in Regions 2 and 3) and 11.7 to 12.5 (in Region 1), ITU, Geneva, 1977.
See Milton S. Smith III, pp. 12829.
See Report of the United States Delegation to the ITU Region 2 Administrative Radio Conference on the Broadcasting Satellite Service, Geneva, Switzerland, 13 June to 17 July 1983, US Department of State, Washington, DC, 1983, p. 2 (mimeo). Nevertheless, the US did make reservations to the plan concerning polarization in its downlink and feeder-link channel assignment and the coverage area power flux density, p. 67.
See Radio Regulations, Edition of 1982, Resolution No. 3.
Ibid.
See Report of the CCIR Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) for the WARC ORB (1) Joint Meeting, Study Groups 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, Geneva, 25 June to 20 July 1984, Part III, ITU, CCIR, Administrative Supplement, Document B/180-F/E/S, 19 July 1984, pp. 126.
The ITU has used various acronyms for this conference including ORB WARC (1), WARC-ORB (1), or WARC ORB-85. In this discussion we will use the term 1985 Space WARC.
See World Administrative Radio Conference on the Use of the Geostationary-Satellite Orbit and the Planning of Space Services Utilizing It, First Session, Geneva, 1985, Final Acts, WARC ORB-85, ITU, Geneva, 1985.
See, for instance, Third Notice of Inquiry [in General Document No. 80741], US Federal Communication Commission, FCC 83452 (adopted 6 October 1983), p. 15.
See 1985 Space WARC Document 18-E (13 June 1985), Document 30-E (27 June 1985) and Document 31-E (1 July 1985).
It should be noted that a quorum was not present when the conference accepted the provisions setting the duration of the plan at ten years, requiring existing systems to make adjustments to accommodate new systems, and describing the meaning of the principle of guarantee of access. See Addendum to Report to the Second Session of the Conference, Document 324 (Rev. 1), 15 September 1985 and Corrigendum 1.
Ibid.
See Report to the Second Session of the Conference. For an account of the accomplishments of the 1985 Space WARC, see R.E. Butler, Opening Statement, a speech delivered at the Annenberg School Program, 25 October 1985 and D. Withers, Equitable Access to Satellite Communication, in Electronics and Wireless World, December 1985, pp. 65, 66, 75.
The US delegation made a declaration to the effect that the US did not feel it was appropriate to use as much space for the allotment plan as was proposed. Nevertheless, after the conference the head of the US delegation was willing to say that under the circumstances the US came out of the conference very well. See Briefing by Dean Burch, US Representative to the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) on Space Communications at the State Department, a mimeograph distributed at the Second Circle Congressional Study Group, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, 4 October 1985.
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© 1987 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Nosaka, K., Yamada, M. (1987). Earth Station Antennas. In: Satellites International. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08103-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-08103-5_8
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