Special:Badtitle/NS90:Milestone and citation wording (1)

The advocate is pleased to support a Milestone for the first direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellite service, or direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service, which NHK pioneered.

Either of these terms may be more appropriate for the citation title, rather than “first satellite broadcasting service to the public.” The home distinction is important because RCA’s Satcom I satellite and NHK’s experimental satellite in the 1970s provided “public” broadcasting transmissions that hundreds of dish antennas could receive. Since NHK’s history of satellite broadcasting qualifies the 1984 satellite launch as the “first practical satellite broadcasting” service, and “practical” is difficult to define in engineering terms, the nominator may agree that use of internationally accepted terms like direct-to-home or direct broadcast satellite highlight the pioneering work of NHK in pioneering home reception of satellite-transmitted television.

Another alternative may be the International Telecommunications Union’s term “broadcast satellite service.” NHK’s would be the first in that area, although again it lacks the emphasis on home reception that is so important.

The citation might read

NHK began the world’s first direct-to-home satellite broadcasting service in May, 1984. This culminated 18 years of research that included the development of an inexpensive low-noise receiver and investigations of rain attenuation in the 12 GHz band. NASDA, TSCJ, Toshiba Corporation, General Electric Company, and NASA participated with NHK to make satellite broadcasting to households around the world a practical reality. (61 words)

Or

NHK began the world’s first direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service in May, 1984. This culminated 18 years of research that included the development of an inexpensive low-noise receiver and investigations of rain attenuation in the 12 GHz band. NASDA, TSCJ, Toshiba Corporation, General Electric Company, and NASA participated with NHK to make satellite broadcasting to households around the world a practical reality. (62 words)

Or

NHK began the world’s first broadcast satellite service in May, 1984. This culminated 18 years of research that included the development of an inexpensive low-noise receiver and investigations of rain attenuation in the 12 GHz band. NASDA, TSCJ, Toshiba Corporation, General Electric Company, and NASA participated with NHK to make satellite broadcasting to households around the world a practical reality. (60 words)