Intelsat

The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) is a 110-nation consortium that manages international satellite communications. Its formation, on Aug. 24, 1964, developed from conferences held after U.S. president John F. Kennedy invited (1961) all nations to join the United States in forming a consortium to exploit the potential of COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES. Ownership was apportioned on the basis of anticipated use. Permanent arrangements, opened for signing in 1971, went into force in February 1973.
INTELSAT has a board of governors (based on each nation's usage), an assembly of parties (one nation, one vote), a meeting of signatories, and an executive office with a director general. The U.S. member, the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT), was established by the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 and incorporated as a private company on Feb. 1, 1963. COMSAT was appointed management services contractor when INTELSAT was formed. The position has been open for competition since 1979, however.
Satellites and a few ground stations are owned by INTELSAT: most of the latter, however, are owned by the member nations. The first satellite launched by INTELSAT was EARLY BIRD (Intelsat I) in 1965. Since then the investment cost per circuit year has decreased as the series of satellites launched by INTELSAT have grown in size, capacity, and design lifetime. The first, Intelsat I, could only carry 240 circuits or one television channel, whereas Intelsat III could carry 1,500 circuits or up to four channels, and Intelsat V could carry 12,000 circuits along with two channels. The most recent model, Intelsat VI, by using advanced digital and modulation techniques, can carry 120,000 circuits and three channels. Several satellites of a given model may be in orbit at the same time. For example, the 1992 Space Shuttle rescue of the Intelsat VI launched into too low an orbit in 1990 brought to five the number of satellites in the Intelsat VI series that were in functional orbit around the Earth.
In 1984, INTELSAT enabled a new service. Vista, to become available to areas otherwise without telecommunications capability. The following year, after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission sanctioned private competition with INTELSAT, the organization replied by moving into direct competition with providers of satellite communications within the United States.