negotiating international agreements on orbit and frequency availability. One of the vexing issues with respect to ITU's role as revealed in the course of the 1977 WARC has been how to reconcile ITU's lack of competence over geostationary orbital position assignments with its mandate to coordinate the efficient and economic use of the radio spectrum. This issue arose from the fact that geostationary orbital position and frequency spectrum can not be separated from one another for the purpose of coordinating or regulating any space services. Thus the 1977 WARC approved a plan designating geostationary orbital positions and frequencies in specific bands for broadcasting-satellite services. While the plan reflects an a priori, rather than an evolutionary, approach with respects to Regions 1 and 3, it is clearly geared to "services". Additionally, its significance lies in the fact that it establishes ITU competence to deal with geostationary orbital positions in the indicated context in view of orbit/spectrum inseparability. In the face of several key issues, one of the policy options for the United States would be to prepare a draft technical plan of ITU procedures relative to microwave energy transmission by GEOSAT-s and get an informal reaction from ITU and other appropriate sources, possibly in course of the next WARC meeting in 1979. Such plan may be in the form of an evolutionary step-by-step outline indicating in sequence the problems that will have to be studied and the likely ITU groups and other forums before which they could be taken up. If informal reaction to the draft plan is favorable, a more formal consideration may be sought, perhaps from a study group, possibly Study Group 2 or 4 of CCIR which have been concerned with
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