African telco Liquid Telecom signed a multiyear deal with Eutelsat for multiple transponders on its Eutelsat 7B satellite to help provide direct-to-home services across the continent and connect enterprise customers, Eutelsat said in a news release Tuesday. Scott Mumford, Liquid Telecom group managing executive-satellite and VSAT, said broadcast "still plays a massive part in the satellite business and we are extremely pleased to have secured this important contract, which will allow the launch of a new large scale broadcast offering.”
Warning that the $610,560 in damages a court ordered it to pay DirecTV would put it out of business, Exclaim Marketing is asking for a stay of enforcement until its appeal of those damages is finally decided, it said in a motion (in Pacer) Tuesday in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The direct broadcast satellite marketing firm sued DirecTV in 2015, alleging DirecTV actively sought to interfere in Exclaim's business relationships with independent satellite dealers, with the court ultimately overturning the jury's verdict in Exclaim's favor and awarding DirecTV its trademark infringement counterclaim. In its appellate motion, Exclaim said it also filed a motion to stay enforcement with the U.S. District Court in New Bern, North Carolina, because enforcement of the award would cause "irreparable" harm. It also said it believes it can show it likely will prevail on appeal because DirecTV didn't show sufficient evidence to support the award, the stay wouldn't harm DirecTV and the public interest wouldn't favor Exclaim's end while issues still are being litigated -- all of which satisfy the Hilton v. Braunskill test for granting a stay, it said. DirecTV didn't comment Wednesday.
Peruvian telco Telefonica del Peru (TdP) chose Gilat's SkyEdge II-c platform to extend cellular and broadband coverage to rural areas, Israeli company Gilat said in a news release Tuesday. It said the contract for satellite-based cellular backhaul and rural broadband applications is part of TdP's mobile license renewal contract with Peru.
Dish Network extended its Smart Home Services to smartphones, leveraging its nationwide network of technicians who install satellite and surround-sound systems and wireless networks, it said Tuesday. The launch of a smartphone service is the next step in a progression of its service business that began last year when Dish rolled out home entertainment installation through Amazon’s Home Services marketplace, a Dish spokeswoman told us. Dish will extend the service to additional devices and smartphone accessories in coming months, it said. Customers reserve a service slot with a $35 driver fee. Sample service rates are $75 for an iPhone 5 battery replacement, $185 for an iPhone 6 Plus screen repair and $225 for iPhone 6 Plus screen and battery replacement.
As part of SES's plans to buy a majority of O3b, the satellite companies are asking the FCC International Bureau to approve the transfer of control, in a series of filings Monday (see here, here, here and here). SES owns slightly more than 49 percent of O3b and plans to buy another 3,431 shares, giving it a 50.5 percent stake, the companies said, saying SES also will have an option to buy the remaining shares of O3b, though if it fails to do so by Sept. 30, 2017, O3b's other shareholders can require SES to buy their shares. After the close, SES will designate eight of the 14 O3b board members, they said. The acquisition will help boost SES's competitive standing by giving it a wider portfolio, while O3b customers "will benefit from the additional services and coverage" that comes with being part of SES, including access to that company's financial assets, technical expertise and marketing resources, they said. SES said it expects to close on the O3b deal in the second half of 2016.
Eutelsat and Space Systems Loral tested transmissions of extremely high frequencies using an experimental payload on Eutelsat's 65 West A satellite, the companies said in a news release Monday. They said the test was looking at the feasibility of the Q/V band in use for terabit satellite broadband.
Telesat plans to launch two low earth orbit satellites in mid- to late 2017 to test and validate plans for an eventual high-throughput, Ka-band LEO constellation, the company said in a news release Wednesday. Telesat said it's contracted with SSL and Airbus' Surrey Satellite Technology for the two prototypes and already has priority rights to some Ka-band spectrum in non-geostationary orbits through the ITU for the constellation.
ViaSat and the European Space Agency (ESA) will jointly work on an effort to speed up high-capacity satellite products and applications, the two said in a news release Thursday. To start the three-year High Capacity Satellite Applications Factory Initiative (HSC Initiative), Belgium, Switzerland and the U.K. will put up close to $34 million while ViaSat will launch an online portal, the Space Hub, for information sharing among the ESA, European nations and others, they said. ViaSat also potentially could provide technical support for projects chosen under the HCS Initiative, they said. Keven Lippert, ViaSat executive vice president-Space Systems and Corporate Development, said the nascent HCS industry "need[s] constant innovation, fresh thinking and investment from across industry, academia and government. By partnering with ESA and others on the High Capacity Satellite Applications Factory Initiative, we are making a commitment to energise development and reduce time-to-market for new High Capacity Satellite technologies, applications and services across Europe."
Facebook will employ three SES satellites -- Astra 2G, Astra 3B and Astra 4A -- and various SES services to provide high-speed broadband connectivity services to sub-Saharan Africa through its Express Wi-Fi program, SES said in a news release Wednesday.
An FTC lawsuit against DirecTV is heading to settlement proceedings, said U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam of San Francisco in an order (in Pacer) Wednesday referring the case to Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero. The agency sued Dish in 2015, alleging it wasn't properly communicating early cancelation fees that subscribers face if they sign up and then quit the service before two years (see 1503110042).