A first-of-its-kind conference about the rural use of satellite services was held Tuesday by the Federal Communications Commission that featured the participation of Chairman Michael Powell, four FCC commissioners and senior executives from an array of companies that included satellite broadcasters, operators and entrepreneurs. The full-day event offered panel discussions about farming and agricultural services, critical public safety activities, telemedicine and education services, as well as Internet access and mass media entertainment services.

“The ubiquity of satellite signals has long held the potential to deliver advanced communications anywhere and everywhere in America,” Powell said during his opening remarks at the forum. The rural satellite event is intended to showcase the “significant progress” that has been made to realize the full potential of the technology, he explained. Satellite is the “one communications technology” that is capable of reaching each and every single American, in every spot of the country, no matter how rural or remotely located they might be, he added.

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