在欧洲,一直酝酿着电视直播卫星计划,其进展情况则往往是难以预料的。在该项计划中一直处于领先地位的法国和英联邦目前却陷入了绝境。然而欧洲其它一些国家的这项计划却事随人愿,例如卢森堡和爱尔兰的计划如今已大大提前。在英国,独立广播局(IBA)已向本国和外国制造商发出了研制新的电视直接广播卫星的招标,这种新卫星将用来接替由于造价太高于今 In Europe, television direct broadcast satellite programs have been brewing and their progress is often unpredictable. France and the Commonwealth, which have been leading the program for a while, are now in desperation. However, this plan in some other European countries has gone hand in hand. Plans such as Luxembourg and Ireland are now ahead of schedule. In the United Kingdom, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) has sent out bids to domestic and foreign manufacturers for the development of a new direct broadcast satellite that will be used to take over as a result of the cost overruns