International regulation of DBS transmission and uplinks

The history of ITU regulation of TV and radio transmission via satellite is reviewed, with an emphasis on the provisions for Europe, and technological implications are discussed. Consideration is given to the frequency bands for DBS, planning for the 12-GHz band, planning for Regions 1 and 3, WARC-BS-1977 provisions for Regions 1 and 3, RARC-SAT-R2 (1983) provisions for Region 2, and uplink regulations. It is pointed out that improvements in receiver technology (permitting lower satellite EIRP, improved reception quality and availability, and/or smaller antennas) can be exploited within the WARC-BS-77 framework. Extensive tables of numerical data and several maps of coverage areas are provided.