This film was made to report on the results of an experimental satellite radio project conducted in 1971 and 1972 in interior Alaska that was funded by the National Library of Medicine. It highlights the improved radio communication provided by the ATS-1 satellite system compared with the existing single-side band, high frequency radios. It shows health aides and doctors using the system, and emphasizes the need for and benefit of more dependable communication in rural Alaska, especially for healthcare. The film demonstrates the success of the experimental satellite system and presses for installation of a permanent system. The film is narrated by Willie Hensley; was directed, filmed and edited by Judy Irving; and was a production of Stanford University's Communication Department. The film was supported by Contract No: NIH71-4718 along with the Lister Hill Center for Biomedical Communication, the National Library of Medicine, the National Institute of Health, and the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Click here to view the 21 minute video.
This video is part of the collections of the Alaska Film Archives at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks and has the catalog number AAF-270. For more information about the film, see its catalog record in the library's online catalog.