Recent developments in the area of sophisticated communications technology present challenges to the imagination of every educator. This guide provides educational planners with an awareness and understanding of communication satellite technology, its current uses, and some of the tentative plans for educational experimentation. The first part introduces the general nature of communication satellites in terms of technological categories, basic economics, and evolutional processes. A detailed description of International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (INTELSAT) gives an up-to-date picture of an operational communication satellite system. The last part reviews ongoing and proposed experiments that could help revolutionize education over the next two decades. Eight national and international projects are described, in terms of general objectives, scope, cost, software, and evaluation. It is hoped that the satellite experiments will provide answers to many of the questions that communication experts, educators, and engineers have asked about the operational feasibility of using satellites in developed and less-developed countries. But the author also cautions that future success in this field depends not only on satellite technology per se but also the success of program content. (CH)