ABSTRACT
The Corporation's creation provided policy foundations that were examined and challenged during the development of the Domestic Satellite (DOMSAT) policy. In the 1960's, Communications Satellite Corporation's relationships with Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the carriers were unique and added a level of complexity to the rapidly changing environment of the Commission and to its regulatory functions. Congress expanded the workload and the authority of the FCC with the Communications Satellite Act of 1962. This national policy established precedents which had to be considered in the DOMSAT policy-making process. Congressional activity was also significant during the DOMSAT proceedings but then it was in the form of FCC oversight hearings rather than lawmaking debate. Finally, the DOMSAT question was raised by the competitive spirit of industry, not by Congress, the Commission or the carriers. This forced the Commission to respond to the imperatives of this new technology, to the user demands and to the market structure with a viable policy.
