INTELSAT, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, is a body that provides global international communications via space satellites in geostationary orbit above the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was created on August 20, 1964, when 11 countries signed agreements to establish an international satellite communications network. Today Intelsat has more than 110 member countries. The Intelsat network comprises two segments - the space segment and the ground segment. The space segment consists of 15 or so satellites in geostationary equatorial orbits, currently Intelsat 5, 5A and Intelsat 6. The ground segment consists of about 675 communications antennas at 565 ground stations in 150 countries, territories and dependencies. A number of countries lease capacity on Intelsat satellites for purely domestic communications. The satellite Intelsat 1, or Early Bird, pioneered international telecommunications in 1965 by providing 240 voice circuits and a single TV channel. The latest Intelsat 6, by contrast, can handle no less than 33,000 simultaneous telephone conversations and four TV channels.
