Earth station in motion operators continue to clash with Iridium over the idea of ESIMs sharing the 29.25-29.3 GHz band on a co-primary basis with Iridium feeder links. In a docket 17-95 posting Wednesday, Inmarsat, SES and ViaSat said Iridium's proposed changes to the ESIM draft order (see 1809130025) would be too restrictive of aeronautical ESIMs in the band. They said Iridium hasn't shown why it supposedly can't coordinate with aeronautical ESIMs and said any in-line event involving an Iridium earth station, an ESIM, an Iridium satellite and the geostationary satellite would "be an extremely rare occurrence," while near in-line events would still be "very rare." They also said there's no material difference in potential effect of aeronautical ESIMs vs. ESIMs on the ground and since Iridium has said it can coexist with land and maritime ESIMs there's no reason the same doesn't hold true for aeronautical. Iridium emailed that the technical record and years of international studies show ESIMs will cause interference to non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) systems like its own. "And it is equally clear no one has identified a traditional way to coordinate ESIMs and NGSOs," it said. "This problem is manifestly worse with aeronautical ESIMs because: (1) they move very, very fast; (2) they change altitude; and (3) they can fly right between the gateways and the Iridium constellation -- making in-line events a certainty unless the ESIM is turned off. The draft Order has suggested that NGSOs can be protected by turning ESIMs off if they can see an Iridium satellite. That might work if it were adopted as a rule."

The federal Government Education and Training Network (GETN) consortium of agencies gave Hughes a blanket purchase agreement contract for a global satellite network to support its distance learning programs, Hughes said Tuesday. The agreement -- $15 million in funding over up to five years -- builds on the existing contract it had with GETN, Hughes said. It said the network covers more than 1,000 downlink sites with one or more classrooms, five uplink sites, 21 broadcast studios and 44 international sites.

Non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) annual capacity revenue should hit $4 billion by 2027, as their low latency and high bandwidth per terminal should open the door to new markets to satellite, Northern Sky Research said Tuesday. However, the cost of such constellations is huge and the revenue drivers might not be enough to recoup initial investments, meaning risk of possible price disruptions for the whole satellite industry if NGSOs use capacity to poach customers from legacy operators, NSR said. It said even the constellations that have attracted significant funding lack a clear path to service and operator focus on technology development has to shift to commercialization.

As the FCC looks to revise or ax unnecessary regulations (see 1611030042), Iridium has its sights on the procedure for blanket authorization holders adding transceiver/antenna combinations to their licenses. In a docket 16-251 posting Tuesday, it recapped a phone call with International Bureau Satellite Division staff in which it advocated the agency let some earth station minor modifications be done without having to notify the FCC as long as those changes don't involve such issues as additional operating frequencies, polarization changes or a higher antenna. The company said the agency should clarify that adding new transceiver/antenna combinations to an existing blanket earth station license doesn't require prior FCC notification when they meet certain requirements.

California is working with Earth imaging company Planet Labs to develop and eventually launch a satellite for tracking pollutants tied to climate change, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said Friday: "With science still under attack and the climate threat growing, we’re launching our own damn satellite.” The state said Planet will manage operations.

AT&T's DirecTV hopes to launch its T16 multiband satellite in Q1, it said in an FCC International Bureau filing Thursday as it asked for authorization for its launch and operation. DirecTV said T16 will operate initially at 103 degrees west as a replacement to or supplement for the T15, T10 and T12 satellites. It said T16 -- which will operate in the Ka-band, 17/24 GHz band and 12/17 GHz band -- will let it expand HD offerings.

The FCC satellite licensing streamlining NPRM should be an addition to, and not a replacement for, existing Part 5 and Part 97 routes for getting small satellite authorizations, representatives of the University of Colorado and its Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic told International Bureau staff, recounted a docket 18-86 filing Thursday. They said lowering the $30,000 application fee to perhaps be on par with Part 5 experimental license fees would be helpful to scientific or educational applicants with limited budgets. They argued against requiring propulsion capabilities for Part 25 streamlined eligibility as that could preclude many smallsat missions from using the streamlined process, saying other options are available to guarantee safe deorbiting, such as passive deorbiting acceleration. They suggested more flexibility on requiring satellite trackability for streamlined eligibility other than minimum dimensions, and "remain open-minded" about size requirement waivers.

Arguing fixed satellite service earth stations in motion in the 29.25-29.3 GHz band pose a significant interference threat to its uplinks, Iridium is pitching other ways of allowing ESIM use of that spectrum, in docket 17-95 postings Thursday recapping meetings with Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp (see here and here). The agency could allow land and marine ESIMs in the band but hold off on aeronautical ESIM approval since those pose particular risk of in-line interference, Iridium said, adding that aeronautical ESIM approval could come when there's better coordination of aeronautical operations. The agency could OK ESIM operations in the band with the requirement they protect Iridium feeder link reception via the routes described in the ESIM draft order on the September agenda (see 1809040058), it said. The company said deferring action on riskier ESIM deployments doesn't hurt FCC spectrum use objectives.

Dutch IoT satellite startup Magnitude Space wants to put up a 24-satellite low earth orbit mobile satellite system constellation. In an FCC International Bureau petition for U.S. market access Monday, Magnitude's Hiber said the first two satellites are scheduled for launch in October and November, with the constellation to reach full size over five years. It said a third satellite is under construction, and beyond that the company is exploring the use of smaller satellites for its buildout. It said the constellation will be part of a low-power global area network, Hiberband, providing global connectivity and IoT devices. It said the constellation -- orbiting at roughly 600 km -- will be tied to earth stations around the globe and to ground stations in Norway and the Netherlands. The company plans to use service links in the 399.9-400.05 MHz band for uplinks 400.15-401 MHz band for downlinks and feeder links in the 2200-2290 MHz band when satellites are directly over the ground stations, and not in or near the U.S. Hiber told the bureau that while Orbcomm is authorized to operate on a primary basis in parts of the 400.15-401 MHz band, sharing shouldn't be a problem because Hiber satellites only transmit to earth stations in short bursts when the satellite is directly overhead. Orbcomm didn't comment Tuesday.

Space products supplier Ruag Space joined the Satellite Industry Association, the association said Monday.