ABSTRACT
Once the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has completed the allocation of portions of the available space resources to satellite communication services, it is the task of appropriate government agencies to assign those space resources to various competing domestic applicants. There are two primary factors involved in the day-to-day domestic allocation of space resources, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The NTIA has been given three major functions in reference to space resources: making space resources assignments to the agencies of the Federal Government; formulating plans and policies for the effective and efficient use of space resources in coordination with the FCC; and helping develop US proposals for ITU conferences. Changes in the Act were opposed, however, by representatives of the State Department, Commerce, and the FCC, all of whom pointed out that the COMSAT “instruction process” had been greatly improved.
