International communication: satellites and submarine cables

Long-distance-communication capability is expanding at a rapid rate. The relatively narrowband submarine cables of the early 1960s and the overcrowded h.f. radio spectrum are being superseded by the ever increasing geostationary-satellite complex and by wideband cables. The future of high-speed data transmission, multichannel television and educational programmes looks bright. But will society be able to make good use of an international communication system whose capacity has virtually exploded overnight?