Cultural invasion from space
The technology to beam television programmes directly from space to people鈥檚 homes is available, and the world鈥檚 broadcasters are working hard to overcome the political problems. One of these is how to prevent the 鈥渃ultural invasion鈥� of some countries by others with powerful broadcast satellites.
If the sun shines any day between today and 6 March at around 2 pm, take a look out of the window. Every wall or roof basking in the sun鈥檚 rays is a potential location for a satellite receiving aerial, because the sun is in approximately the same position in the sky as the UK鈥檚 broadcasting satellite may be in about six years鈥� time.
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But if you rush to be the first on your street with a parabolic aerial, though you may impress the neighbours, it will be three years before you can receive programmes. Even then, they are unlikely to be in English. And people have speculated about cultural invasion by commercial or politically unrestrained programmes (possibly from Luxembourg or the United States) being beamed from space to citizens of other countries, with or without the permission of their governments.
International Telecommunications Union regulation No. 428A appears to be quite unambiguous on this. It states that 鈥渁ll technical means shall be used to reduce the radiation over the territory of other countries鈥�. This has been reflected in the 1977 plan for satellite broadcasting, where it is assumed the beam width of the radiating antenna for each service will be no wider than is absolutely necessary to serve the target country. Yet commercial moguls find the prospect of a wide spectrum of commercial channels, beamed by satellite to the whole UK, very enticing.
From New 杏吧原创, 28 February 1980
