ABSTRACT
On July 17, 1984, after eleven months of negotiation, the United States and the Soviet Union formally agreed, in an Exchange of Notes, to upgrade the Direct Communications Link, or Hotline, by the addition of a secure facsimile transmission capability. The original Hotline consisted of two full-time duplex telegraph circuits connecting teletype-equipped terminals within the Kremlin and Pentagon. In May 1970 the United States proposed also considering the feasibility and desirability of improving the Hotline. In June the United States elaborated on the proposal, suggesting the contribution that advances in satellite communications capability could make to improving the reliability and survivability of the Hotline. The Administration's proposal to upgrade the Hotline was quite simple, yet very powerful—namely, add on to the existing system the capability to transmit with facsimile equipment full pages of text, maps, graphs, or pictures simultaneously with the transmission of shorter, printed messages over the teletype.
