Early Bird Aloft

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Blizzards from the Sun. Either way, there are problems ahead, especially during periods of sunspot activity, when the earth is frequently bombarded by blizzards of high-energy particles from the sun. But for the present, Comsat is riding high on top of the communications world. Early Bird is built to handle TV programs or 240 simultaneous telephone conversations. The five telephone cables that now cross the Atlantic can handle only 412. If all goes well with Early Bird, the satellite will start shuttling TV broadcasts between the U.S. and Europe on May 2, and commercial telephone service, with its built-in hesitations, will start in June. The "talking explosion" that has long been predicted by communications experts seems to have arrived at last.