Dealing with the experiences of and the conditions for international and intercontinental satellite transmissions as they have been carried out during the past decade, this paper focuses on the rules and practices applied within the Intelsat system. The purpose of the paper is to explore the issues involved in establishing tariffs in accord with world-wide public interest in the light of recent economic theory. After an introduction, sections provide a discussion of the organization of television transmission by satellite as it now exists, an overview of how satellite services are priced today, an analysis of alternative means for pricing television transmission in the light of the special cost characteristics of communications and broadcast services, a re-evaluation of current pricing practices on the basis of the preceding analyses, a description of an alternative pricing policy which could stimulate the use of satellite systems for television without imposing undue additional costs, and a discussion of possible objections and questions relating to this proposed approach. (Author/SH)