I believe the last country on earth to receive satellite tv was Tibet (or was it Nepal?). I saw a special on it on The Discovery Channel I think. Most of the homes do not have running water, but they have satellite tv. The parents are complaining about it already.
Tracy

>Tom,
>
>I'll only quibble with your "at least 40 years".
>Yes, forty years within the "west" - the poor watching how the rich live and dreaming.
>
>But it is the rest of the world - the poorer countries of the world - that is my focus.
>I guess it was about 20 years ago that satellite transmission became cheaper and so more widely available for 'general' television use. I guess it was about 10-12 years ago that "home" satellite dishes started to become available (as in affordable for regular folk) generally, especially in the poorer countries. Possibly government "gifts" in such places, or the gifts of non-governmental aid agencies.
>I guess it was around 10 years ago that television pricing and television availability got practical for an Ethiopean or Zanzibarian or Pakistani village.
>
>Regardless, the critical thing in all of this is the new cause of resentment and discontent that television images can breed once the viewers realize that its all real. I'm betting it's new in these societies and that it cannot be dealt with using the old formulae that have been tried and true over centuries.