Satellite broadcasting in Europe

Three main communications services are recognized by the International Telecommunications Union: the Fixed Service, the Mobile Service and the Broadcasting Service. In Europe, EUTELSAT has just begun to exploit the first ECS satellite. The ESA-launched satellite was originally designed to provide an international public telecommunication service, however, the satellite will be used now almost exclusively for TV program distribution, while a second ECS satellite will be used for telephony. Despite plans for the launch of a third, countries in Europe are looking to other organizations such as INTELSAT for greater satellite capacity. Other organizations include Unisat, DFS/Copernicus, GDL, and Videosat. Both satellite and cable networks will increase the program-viewing audience, thus encouraging plans for a pan-European television service intended for an international audience. Although the combination of cable networks and distribution satellites looks promising, high-power broadcasting satellites will play an important role because of flexibility and additional program distribution.