The Rural Satellite Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development was a 6-year effort (1981-87) to explore the potential uses of two way telecommunications facilities, particularly satellite-mediated, telephone-based technologies--to support Third World Development educational endeavors. This program created three audioconferencing networks in Indonesia, the West Indies, and Peru that linked widely scattered locations and allowed for rapid communication and the sharing of scarce human resources. The Indonesian Distance Education Satellite System and the University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment offered primarily undergraduate and graduate courses, while the Peru Rural Communications Services Project provided in-service training to agricultural extension and health care workers, teachers, and government personnel. Each project had its own technical difficulties, with the common problem of noisy local lines for telephone transmissions. The different nature of each of the systems led to different approaches in program planning although each project generally suffered from a lack of optimal funding for central management and program development. Each of the projects had a strong impact upon the areas and institutions involved, with audioconferencing shown to be a reliable, acceptable, and effective tool. Following the end of the pilot periods, the three networks continued with funding by the host agencies and were expanded. (ALL)