The European Commission is considering authorising the creation of the joint venture intended to offer satellite-based ISDN services. The new entity, International Private Satellite Partners, has already been set up in the form of a limited liability partnership under American law, with Washington- based Orion Satellite Corp as the general partner. Satellite Partners will primarily provide international business telecommunications services to North American and European multinationals by satellite and Very Small Aperture Satellite Terminal on the basis of a ‘single window’ and ‘end-to-end’ service. It will also offer satellite transmission capacity not being used by the partners to third parties. The services will be marketed and distributed via local commercial firms in the different countries. These firms will not have exclusive rights, except in the case of Italian Stet SpA, which will be the exclusive Satellite Partners distributor in Italy and its exclusive representative in Austria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta and the former Soviet Union.
