SES and Rutgers University's School of Engineering started work on content delivery network development meant to show and quantify the effectiveness of SES' CDN overlay in meeting demand for online video distribution, SES said in a news release Monday. The demonstrations will start by using satellite for linear and on-demand over-the-top delivery of content to wireless test beds at Rutgers' Wireless Information Network Lab, with the second stage being a national demo of satellite-based CDN involving multiple universities and test beds, it said. Steve Corda, SES vice president-business development North America, said the Rutgers demos "are designed to compare the scalability and reliability of a satellite-based CDN with terrestrial networks," saying it will "explore intelligent content caching and routing to determine when it makes sense to deliver over-the-top video via satellite or terrestrially, and when to cache that content at the network edge."

Dish Network and broadcasters China Central TV (CCTV) and TVB Holdings are suing HTV International (HTVI), the maker of the h.TV set-top box, for pirating CCTV and TVB TV programming. In a 32-page suit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, they allege h.TV set-top subscribers, after a one-time payment of up to $300 for the box, receive unlicensed signals from China, Hong Kong and other nations, with Dish having some rights to TVB distribution in the U.S. h.TV's "massive piracy" works through a peer-to-peer network, with some h.TV users not only receiving programming streams but also retransmitting those streams to other h.TV users, according to the suit. The plaintiffs also allege HTVI has "gone to great lengths to conceal ... infringing activity" by claiming it has no role in the third-party h.TV apps that allow users to access and share the infringing content, but those app developers don't exist "or are controlled by HTVI," and the company is directly responsible for the capturing of CCTV and TVB broadcasts and development and dissemination of the apps. In the suit, the plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction from transmitting or distributing CCTV and TVB programming or selling an h.TV device that offers that programming, plus unspecified damages. HTVI didn't comment.

Roberson & Associates' testing of LTE interference with GPS is complete, with the final results likely to be filed with the FCC in early May, Ligado Networks said. In an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 12-340 about a phone call with Wireless Bureau Associate Chief Charles Mathias, Ligado said it expects to file a final report on the relationship between a 1 dB change in carrier-to-noise density and GPS device interference, and details on its testing processes and methodology. Ligado said earlier the testing was proving signals from its proposed LTE network won't interfere with GPS navigation devices (see 1602250032).

Intelsat and BBC World News renewed and expanded their distribution contract, with BBC World News standard definition and HD content to be delivered to Asia and the Americas using Galaxy 13, Intelsat 19, Intelsat 20 and Intelsat 21, plus Intelsat's IntelsatOne terrestrial network of teleports and leased fiber, the satellite company said in a news release Thursday.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a petition for hearing en banc filed by Texas lawyer/plaintiff Larry Polsky seeking a rehearing of his consumer complaint against Dish Network. In its order (in Pacer) Wednesday, the three-judge panel said no member of the panel nor judge in active service sought a poll. The 5th Circuit in March upheld a previous U.S. District Court in Houston summary judgment tossing out Polsky's consumer complaint against Dish, calling his claims frivolous (see 1603030026). Polsky didn't comment Thursday.

Ligado continues to press the FCC for a public notice seeking comment on its proposed license modification and rulemaking request for sharing of 1675-1680 MHz. In an ex parte filing Wednesday in docket 12-340, Ligado recapped a meeting with its lawyers including ex-FCC Chairman Reed Hunt with current FCC staff including Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and Office of Engineering and Technology Deputy Chief Ron Repasi at which it said it discussed its work with stakeholders on its network deployment plans. Putting out a PN "would provide all interested parties the opportunity to comment on the new power limits and the company's plans for terrestrial deployment and how these limitations will benefit all consumer GPS devices," Ligado said. It and others repeatedly have asked for a PN (see 1604040034, 1602120052 and 1602040015).

Intelsat hopes to start moving JCSAT-RA from 128 degrees east to 169 degrees east by early 2017. In an FCC International Bureau filing Monday, Intelsat -- which is taking over JCSAT-RA from owner Sky Perfect JSAT -- sought authority for the drift and to operate JCSAT-RA at 169 degrees east. It said it expects to have the drift done in Q2 2017, and the satellite will collocate with Intelsat 8 and Intelsat 805 and bridge any gaps in service between their retirement and the arrival of Horizons 3e, expected in Q1 2019. The end of service life for JCSAT-RA is expected to be in 2024, Intelsat said.

BridgeSat and Surrey Satellite Technology US jointly will work on developing a laser-based satellite communications system with secure data downlinks to a ground network at speeds faster than RF spectrum, the companies said in a news release Tuesday. They said Surrey will build the flight laser terminal units that will communicate with BridgeSat’s global ground network, with the aim of data transmissions of up to 10 Gbps per link. The Surrey terminals will be equipped with standardized interfaces, letting them be used with either Surrey satellites or as flight units for other satellite operators, they said. They said the laser communications system is expected to be operational "within the next couple of years."

Orbcomm expects to close next month on its planned buy of South Africa's Skygistics and its South Africa and Australia subsidiaries, Orbcomm said in a news release Tuesday. Orbcomm said the Skygistics deal will expand distribution for its product set in various IoT markets, including numerous African nations, and comes as Orbcomm looks to be a global IoT services provider. Skygistics already distributes satellite connectivity products from SkyWave, an Orbcomm subsidiary, it said. The deal's terms weren't announced.

Orbital ATK's first customer for its satellite life extension service is Intelsat, Orbital ATK said in a news release Tuesday. Under the service agreement, Orbital ATK said it will make, test and launch a commercial servicing vehicle (CSV), the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), with it first providing mission extension service for Intelsat in 2019. In a statement, Orbital ATK CEO David Thompson said, “There is a vital need to service fully functional but aging satellites in both commercial and government markets. Backed by our continued investment, today’s announcement signals that we are just getting started in expanding our CSV fleet to provide a diverse array of in-space services in the future.” According to Orbital ATK, MEV-1 will use a docking system to attach to a customer's satellite and take over propulsion and attitude control. The company said MEV-1 has a 15-year design life and is able to do numerous dockings and undockings during that time. The first MEV is scheduled to launch in late 2018, Orbital ATK said. The company didn't identify which Intelsat satellite it would service, but said Intelsat has the option to service multiple satellites using the same MEV.