The keynote article in this issue summarizes some of the lessons learned after a decade of using satellites for public service, and after five years of experimentation with information technologies designed for specialized audiences. Community service programs in the Appalachian Mountain and Rocky Mountain regions and in the state of Alaska are evaluated, and a series of observations are made suggesting reasons for the success or failure of these satellite projects. The report also includes an outline of projects funded by the telecommunications demonstration program and lists the name of the grantee, the technology used, the service rendered, and the end-user of that service. Other articles in this issue provide: (1) a discussion of satellite communications in rural Peru, (2) a glossary of the language of telecommunications, (3) some practical guidelines for radio scriptwriters and planners, (4) an examination of communications utilization in encouraging a hybrid cocoa farming program in Nigeria, and (5) a discussion of the use of interactive media by the Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) program to send information on energy to requestors, primarily in developing countries. (MER)