GOVERNMENT USE OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1966 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10 a.m., in room 2247, Rayburn Office Building, Hon. Chet Holifield (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representative Holifield. Also present: Herbert Roback, staff administrator; Douglas G. Dahlin, counsel; Paul Ridgely, investigator; Joseph Luman, defense analyst; and J. P. Carlson, minority staff. Mr. HOLIFIELD. The committee will be in order. We will continue our hearings on the communications satellite programs. Our first witness this morning will be Mr. Richard P. Scott, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Communications. Will you come forward to the witness table, Mr. Scott, and bring your associates if you wish. STATEMENT OF RICHARD P. SCOTT, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS; ACCOMPANIED BY PHILIP F. PATMAN, OFFICE OF THE LEGAL ADVISER; THOMAS E. NELSON, OFFICE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS; AND C. GRANT SHAW, OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS Mr. SCOTT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I may, sir, I would like to introduce my associates. Mr. Frank Loy, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Transportation and Telecommunications; Mr. Philip Patman, who is from the Office of the Legal Adviser; Mr. Thomas Nelson of the Office of Telecommunications; and Mr. Grant Shaw, who is from my office, the Office of Communications. Mr. HOLIFIELD. You may proceed with your statement, sir. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, it is my privilege to appear before you today to comment on the Department of State's participation in the National Communications System and to discuss, from an operational viewpoint, our interest in satellite communications and our thoughts concerning their future use. As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications, I represent the operating communications component of the Department of State. This includes the diplomatic courier service as well as the electrical communications of the Department and the Foreign Service of the United States. Assistant Secretary of Defense Horwitz, in his testimony before you the week before last, covered the role of the NCS. I shall not, therefore, repeat it in this statement. The basic authority for the Department's participation in the National Communications System is contained in President Kennedy's memorandum to the heads of all executive departments and agencies, dated August 21, 1963. The Department of State is a major operating agency of the National Communications System. Our long-haul, worldwide system-the diplomatic telecommunications system-is an element of the national system and is a key supporting mechanism to the coordination and application of U.S. foreign policy. I have been designated by Secretary Rusk as the Department of State's NCS representative. In addition, a senior staff officer has been assigned from my office as a full-time representative to the Manager's advisory staff. The Department also has representation in the NCS operations staff and the NCS plans staff. The Department of State's participation in the NCS is direct and continuing. Mr. Chairman, the "telecommunications explosion" to which Assistant Secretary of Defense Horwitz referred in his statement before this subcommittee on August 15, 1966, is a continuing phenomenon. Indeed, it continues on an accelerating basis. This fact emphasizes the importance of common technical standards, procedures and facilities planning being developed on a joint basis within our Government. As Secretary Horwitz indicated, we must assure that the U.S. Government's telecommunication systems are so designed and operated that they can interface and work together as a coherent entity under all conditions ranging from normal situations to national emergencies and international crises. The Department of State participates with the Director of Telecommunications Management, the Executive Agent and the Manager, NCS, and with the other operating agencies in the system to accomplish these aims. We consider the accomplishments of the NCS to date as noteworthy. The adoption of uniform procedures, priorities systems and technical standards for all NCS systems represents a substantial forward step in collectively handling our Government's traffic. The NCS organization has proven to be a productive management group of this Government's principal communications representatives. The Department of State is following with keen interest communications satellite developments. A description of our system will, I believe, demonstrate why. We have a basic requirement to communicate rapidly, reliably, and securely, with and between some 275 diplomatic and consular posts throughout the world. It is a complex and difficult requirement to satisfy. Communications services involved run the gamut from the traditional diplomatic courier to full-time electrical communications links. Our primary requirement today is for secure teletype record communications. Of increasing importance is telephonic service-both secure and clear text. In the future we visualize a need for data transmission channels which can support computer operations. The electrical communications requirements of the State Department and of the agencies which look to us for communications support at our posts abroad, which include Defense attachés and the MAAG's, are today being met by a combination of commercial, Defense, and our own facilities. This organized, yet flexible, combination of assets constitutes the Diplomatic Telecommunications System. One might think of the DTS as the "nerve" system of foreign affairs. Following the practice of other worldwide systems, the Diplomatic Telecommunications System generally functions on the basis of regional relay facilities. These communications centers, operating 24 hours daily, serve as communications collection and distribution points in the region of the world which they serve. Events occurring in a given country today more often than not directly affect adjoining and other interested countries of the world. A typical telegram today is addressed to several places-not just to Washington. Rapid transmission of traffic between and among posts in a given region is, therefore, most important. To the maximum extent possible we interface and cross-connect with Defense facilities at the closest geographic point, in order to provide the best and most reliable service to all customers of the DTS-wherever located. The Department of State considers communications satellites as another means of communications-to be added to the present means: courier, radio, cables, microwave, and wire line. It is in this context, and in recognition of our long-haul international circuitry and longhaul requirements as contained in the NCS long-range plan, that the Department of State anticipates the first general use of satellites to support our operational communications. Linking Washington with the regional relay facilities and linking the regional relays among themselves is an initial and important role for communications satellites. For the foreseeable future, at least, communications satellites will not replace our regional relay operations, nor will they completely replace the other means of communications: radio, undersea cable, and wire. The communications satellite mode, as it becomes available, will most certainly complement and may in many cases be more effective than the more conventional means of communications now widely used to service the Foreign Service establishments of the Department of State. I should also indicate that we believe in providing, to the maximum extent possible, alternate means of communications to our posts. Satellites, like all other means, cannot guarantee 100 percent communications reliability under all conditions. In addition to existing international mainline trunk requirements, communications satellites can, as General Starbird has stated, play an important role in providing superior service to crisis areas. Portable satellite ground units are now in prospect. Smaller and technically more effective earth terminals may be anticipated to meet such requirements in the future. The application of communications satellite technology to the worldwide complex of U.S. Foreign Service posts is inescapable. Increasing requirements for telephonic links, both secure and clear text, can be accommodated. In the offing are data requirements which can also be met by satellite relay. We of the State Department are following all activities in the communications satellite field with the greatest of interest, and, I might add, our participation in the NCS is most helpful in this regard. Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I would like to ask Mr. Loy to present his statement, which is brief. Mr. HOLIFIELD. I think we will have the other statement read now. You go ahead, Mr. Loy, and we will have questions later for both statements. STATEMENT OF FRANK E. LOY, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS Mr. Loy. Mr. Chairman, I am Frank Loy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation and Telecommunications in the Department's Bureau of Economic Affairs. The Department is glad to have the opportunity to appear before you to discuss the international activities in the communications satellite field. Mr. Scott has outlined to you the Department's interest in the National Communications System, and also expressed the expectation that the communications via satellites will provide an additional mode of communications for facilitating the conduct of foreign relations. I, therefore, will confine my comments to the third question you put in your letter to the Secretary of August 11, 1966-recent activities in the international field with particular reference to the Communications Satellite Corp. and NASA communications. These recent activities are intended to implement the policies laid down by Congress in the Communications Satellite Act of 1962. You will recall that section 102 of that act provides, among other things(1) That a commercial communications satellite system should be established as expeditiously as practicable in conjunction and in cooperation with other countries; (2) That the new and expanded telecommunication services are to be made available as promptly as possible and extended to provide global coverage at the earliest practicable date; and (3) That care and attention should be given toward providing such services to the developing countries and areas of the world. These policies can be discussed under three headings: First, the effort to establish on a broad political and geographical base a global commercial communications satellite system. Second, progress in planning and operation of the space segment of the system. Third, the encouragement of prompt establishment of earth stations in various parts of the world in order to obtain maximum global coverage for the system. I would like to discuss each of these three topics in some detail. ESTABLISHMENT OF GLOBAL SYSTEM The agreement establishing interim arrangements for a global commercial communications satellite system, which was signed in August 1964, created the international telecommunications satellite consortium, now called Intelsat, which is the owner and operator of the world's only international commercial communications satellite system. The agreement, initially signed by 11 countries, including the United States, has seen its membership grow to 53 today. Four additional countries have had an investment quota approved by the Interim Communications Satellite Committee, the governing body of Intelsat, and will become members of the consortium as soon as those governments deposit their instrument of accession with the Department. Moreover, we have had indications from several other countries that they are seriously interested in joining this unique venture. It is, therefore, entirely possible that membership in Intelsat will consist of more than 60 countries by the end of this year. The Department, together with our Embassies in the field, and with the able assistance of the Communications Satellite Corp., has expanded considerable effort to accomplish this broadening of the political base of the international joint venture. SPACE SEGMENT PROGRESS At the same time that membership in the consortium has been growing, the Interim Communications Satellite Committee and the manager of Intelsat, the Communications Satellite Corp., have been busy planning the development of the space segment for this system. Their first space segment success was achieved with the launch of Early Bird, now known as Intelsat I, over the Atlantic in the spring of 1965. After considerable testing, this satellite was placed in commercial service in June 1965 between North America and Europe and has been providing satisfactory service since that time. The next step, which involved the National Communications System, was the decision by the Interim Committee to launch two satellites this fall (the Intelsat II series), one over the Pacific and one over the Atlantic, to meet requirements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for its Apollo program. This decision will also make available some space segment channels for service to and from areas of the world not presently being served by Intelsat I (Early Bird), such as the southeast Pacific, Australia, South America, and Africa. The third step in creation of the global system will be the Intelsat III satellites, scheduled for launching in early 1968, which will have the technical capability of providing all types of communications services on a truly global basis. We believe that the corporation has accomplished its job in a very commendable manner, not only as manager for Intelsat, but also in its role as representative of the United States in this international consortium I have just described. With respect to earth stations, Mr. Chairman, we believe that remarkable progress has been made in expanding membership in Intelsat, in establishing the management of the international consortium, and in planning and progress made to date in establishing the necessary space segment facilities. The other essential ingredient for a global communications satellite system is the establishment of earth stations at various locations. around the world in order to obtain maximum advantage of this new mode of communications. There are already in existence earth stations in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and in Japan. In addition, stations are in various stages of planning in the Far East, Latin America, Africa, and India. Some of these will be ready, as far as we can tell, to make use of the Intelsat II satellites, and the others are being planned for use with the Intelsat III satellites. |