A review of the International Telecommunications Satellite Org. (INTELSAT) begun in 1964 to provide mainly telephone and data services, and the International Maritime Satellite Org. (INMARSAT) which was formed in 1979 to provide maritime communications, including services related to safety and rescue at sea. Describes the potential competitive impact of: possible alternative approaches to reforming the organizations; an INMARSAT affiliate company, formed in 1994 to provide new services; and proposals for restructuring INTELSAT.

The Transformation of Intergovernmental Satellite Organisations: Policy and Legal Perspectives offers a multifaceted analysis of the complex policy and legal issues associated with the privatisation or restructuring of the world’s preeminent intergovernmental satellite organisations, INTELSAT, INMARSAT and EUTELSAT. Maury Mechanick, Christian Roisse, and David Sagar, each of whom were directly involved in these undertakings, provide a unique perspective on the critical issues involved, while Frans von der Dunk and Patricia McCormick offer a broader contextual assessment of their significance. The contributors’ insights regarding the restructuring of these satellite organisations and the intergovernmental organisations which oversee public services represent valuable reflections on those developments, as well as on changes occurring following privatisation regarding those entities’ ownership profiles and service provisions.