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The commons In the sky: the radio spectrum and geosynchronous orbit as issues in global policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Marvin S. Soroos
Marvin S. Soroos
Affiliation:
Associate Professor of Political Science at North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
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Abstract

Radio waves, which are used to transmit information electronically, are a portion of the larger spectrum of electromagnetic waves. They are used for purposes as diverse as telephone, AM and FM radio, UHF and VHF television, air and marine navigation, radar, radio astronomy, meteorology, data transmission, and electronic mail. Some uses of the spectrum entail transmitting or receiving information via satellites orbiting the planet. In order to communicate without interference at any given time, a user must have exclusive access to a frequency over a geographical area determined by the distance that the signals travel to targeted receivers.

Type
Research Note
Information
International Organization , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , Summer 1982 , pp. 665 - 677
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 1982

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References

An earlier version of this paper was presented to the annual meeting of the Southern Regional Section of the International Studies Association at Gainesville, Florida, 29–31 October 1981. The author would like to thank Jack D. Salmon, Robert L. Hoffman, Ingvar Botnen, Peter Katzenstein, and John B. O'Neal for their useful comments- and suggestions.

1 Hz is an abbreviation for the number of cycles of a radio wave that pass a fixed point within one second. GHz stands for gigaHertz, which is one million Hz. A band is a section of the frequency spectrum designated by international agreement. See Leinwoll, Stanley, From Spark to Satellite (New York: Scribner's, 1979), pp. 123–24Google Scholar.

2 For a further explanation, see ibid., pp. 124–29.

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7 Ibid.

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9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

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13 The full name is Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, signed 27 January 1967, entered into force 13 October 1967, 18 UST 2410, TIAS no, 6347, 610 U. N. T. S. 205.

14 For a history of the ITU and a description of its structure and operations, see Leive, David M., International Telecommunications and International Law: The Regulations of the Radio Spectrum (Dobbs Ferry, N. Y.: Oceana, 1970)Google Scholar, and Luard, Evan, International Agencies: The Emerging Framework of Interdependence (Dobbs Ferry, N. Y.: Oceana, 1977), pp. 27–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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19 This procedure applies to activities generating signals that cross international boundaries. National governments have full jurisdiction over use of the radio spectrum within their boundaries so long as they do not cause harmful interference for foreign users abiding by international rules. Moreover, these national users do not have a legal basis for demanding a cessation of interference from foreign users who are properly registered with the IFRB.

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21 See above, footnote 15.

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27 See the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, G. A. Resolution 3281 (XXIX), 12 December 1974.

28 See International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems, Interim Report on Communication Problems in Modern Society (Paris:. UNESCO, 1978).

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37 Ronalds, , “Voices of America”, p. 159Google Scholar.

38 See above, footnote 15.

39 Smith, , Space Stations, p. 92Google Scholar.