Citation[]
The White House, Executive Order 11191: Providing for the Carrying Out of Certain Provisions of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962, 30 Fed. Reg. 29 (Jan. 4, 1965) (full-text).
Overview[]
The Communications Satellite Act of 1962 set forth as the policy of the United States the establishment of a commercial communications satellite system in connection and in cooperation with other countries. To implement this policy the President and FCC were given responsibilities under title II of the Act. Subsequently, the President delegated his authority to the Department of State and the Office of Telecommunications Policy (OTP) through Executive Order 11191.
The Secretary of State was delegated the responsibility given the President under title II, section 201(a)(4) of the Act, to exercise supervision over relationships of COMSAT with foreign governments or entities or with international bodies as may be appropriate to assure that such relationships shall be consistent with the national interests and foreign policy of the United States.
OTP was delegated the President's responsibility under section 201(a)(3) to coordinate the activities of governmental agencies with responsibilities in the field of telecommunications so as to insure that there is full and effective compliance at all times with the policies set forth in the Act.
This Executive Order gave birth to an "instructional process" for supervising COMSAT's actions in INTELSAT. The process, however, did not resolve the basic disagreement over the agencies' authorities.