THE EXTRAGALACTIC RADIO-SOURCE BACKGROUND

The background of discrete extragalactic radio sources is described from the point of view of its simplest properties: surface density and surface distribution. New considerations, particularly with regard to the latter, open the possibility of detecting Universal structure on many angular scales. At the same time, these considerations imply the need for greater sophistication in the interpretation of source counts and of the microwave background (MWBG) fluctuations.