The Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned Educational Technology Associates to conduct a study on the educational use of satellites for the Commonwealth Secretariat's Education Program. The study had the following aims: (1) to identify the policy issues that need to be addressed by ministries of education, universities, and other educational bodies in developing Commonwealth countries with respect to the educational use of satellites; (2) to describe the regulatory issues on which either individual or collective government action may be appropriate; (3) to review Commonwealth experience on educational applications of satellites, regulatory issues, costs, and technical issues; and (4) to examine the possibility of access to databanks from remote locations through satellite communications. The report includes a summary of case studies on Australia, Canada, India, the South Pacific, and the West Indies; discussions of the current status of satellite applications and of the potential of satellites in distance education; and considerations of equipment and costs, planning and management, institutional cooperation, and programming source (indigenous or imported). The report concludes with a set of 22 recommendations. Data on Commonwealth countries using satellites are displayed in five appended tables. (55 references) (GL)