18. Communications of the Future

From the time Echo was launched in 1960 until now, progress in communications has been so enormous that it is difficult to know what developments lie ahead—but we can guess at what some of them might be. If the "predictions" sound like science fiction, remember that not Very many years ago, the notion of voices or pictures coming from the sky was science fiction.

Among some of the fascinating possibilities are these: You may turn on your television set and instead of flipping a channel selector, dial a number that begins with an area code. You will turn in a program from Moscow, London, Tokyo, Laos, or any place else in the world.

If you want to speak to friends or business associates in other parts of the world, dial directly on your telephone. Perhaps the area code will be the same fine used for television programs. Press the picture button on your phone and have "picture vision" while you speak. Since overseas telephone service will be so simple, the change may even be the same as for a local call.

If you are interested in a zoo in a distant city or country, a theater performance at any place at all, or a ballet, a concert, an opera, an exhibit at a museum, an art gallery—look up the number in your special events communications directory. Dial the number (or push the right buttons) and see it all on your special events screen.

Books and newspapers printed on paper may become a tiling of the past—a boon for our dwindling forests. You might type into your satellite data retrieval system the title of the book you want, and then pick up your portable book-sized screen. The pages will appear, one at a time, and turn whenever you push the button. Every newspaper on earth will be available in the same way, as soon as the news happens.

We may someday have instant postal service, too. Type a letter on your satellite letter machine. The letter will be transmitted by satellite to the machine at the recipient's address; there it will be typed out automatically, of course—within seconds.

You might be on a plane on your way to Europe when you suddenly realize that you forgot to ask your neighbor to feed your tropical fish during your vacation; Just pick up the satellite phone next to your seat and give your neighbor a call.

Suppose you are traveling in Africa and run out of money. Walk into the nearest bank. The teller will contact your bank on a satellite computer set. If you have money in your account, the African bank will arrange for a transfer and hand you the cash you need immediately.

As long ago as 1965, 30 000 television viewers in the United States and Europe saw Dr. DeBakey perform a heart operation. Soon, there will not be any medical or surgical procedure that doctors cannot learn quickly through such demonstrations of new techniques.

A man with a suspected heart attack will receive proper care even if he is thousands of miles from home. In a few seconds, the local doctor will be able to examine—by communications satellite television—the electrocardiogram the man had taken before he left home. Any changes will be noted at once. At the same time, the patient's entire medical history with its record of past illnesses', medications prescribed, allergies, and other conditions will be presented on the screen by the hometown doctor.

Children and adults, far from schools or universities, will be able to "attend" the schools of their choice—by satellite. Think how easy it would be to learn Chinese if you could "sit in on" a Peking classroom every day.