III - Reforming the international satellite telecommunications organisations

The DGPT works closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to represent the French government in the Intelsat, Inmarsat and Eutelsat organisations. These organisations have the status of intergovernmental co-operative associations, where each Government (called "Party") designates an operator (called "Signatory") which is to participate in the financing and commercial management of the organisation.

In the working groups formed to study the different development scenarios for these organisations, the DGPT has called for a transformation of these organisations so as to make them more responsive to the market, while continuing to integrate the features specific to each of them.

DGPT attaches great importance to carrying out three principles:

• establishing a market governed by rules of fair competition between the private systems and the international organisations;
• establishing non-discriminatory access to the space-segment capacities of these organisations in conformity with the 17 November 1994 Resolution of the Council of Telecommunications Ministries of the European Union;
• when relevant, upholding the public service mission of the international organisations.

It is in this spirit that the DGPT supported the recent decisions and policy guidelines taken by each of the three organisations.

• Intelsat has come out in favour of the principle of multiple signatories (a solution proposed by the DGPT as part of a broader and more flexible system of cooperation), which should be officially adopted in 1995;
• Inmarsat decided to form a subsidiary, Inmarsat-P, to design, launch and operate a system of satellite-based personal communications, which will compete with future low-earth-orbit satellite systems, a decision which France actively supported;
• Finally, in Eutelsat, France spoke out in favour of a significant transformation of the organisation, and argued that measures should be taken as quickly as possible in order to improve conditions for access to the space-segment capacity of the organisation. Decisions along these lines were taken by the last Assembly of Parties, and 1995 should see the organisation continue the process of transforming itself into a more commercial entity.

IV - Multilateral negotiations: the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and prior steps to negotiations on basic telecommunications

Chapter III