The FCC International Bureau requested comment on the progress of the Open-Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications Act (Orbit Act), which was to promote a competitive global market for satellite communications services by privatizing Inmarsat and Intelsat, the bureau said in a public notice posted Wednesday in docket 15-16. The bureau is required to report annually on the Orbit Act to the House Commerce and International Relations committees and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Foreign Relations committees, the bureau said. Comments are due March 5, replies March 20.
Inmarsat supported the International Civil Aviation Organization’s recommendations to enhance aviation safety, the company said in a news release Friday. Inmarsat recommended countries voluntarily adopt a performance-based standard for global tracking of commercial aircraft. Inmarsat said automatic dependent surveillance-contract capabilities could offer flight tracking activities, and over 90 percent of wide-bodied trans-oceanic aircraft have equipment compatible for ADS-C use.
Turkey satellite operator Turksat will use Hughes Network Systems' Jupiter high-throughput satellite ground system to enhance Turksat services in Turkey and surrounding countries in Europe and the Middle East, Hughes Europe said in a news release Tuesday. Turksat will provide high-speed Ka-band satellite services with the Jupiter ground system after it launches the Turksat 4B satellite, scheduled for early next year, Hughes said.
DirecTV started carrying Olympusat’s Cine Mexicano, a commercial-free network dedicated to Mexican movies, Olympusat said in a news release Tuesday. DirecTV customers can now find Cine Mexicano on Optimo Más, Más Ultra and Lo Maximo packages, it said.
ViaSat again asked the FCC to reverse its summary rejection (see 1501060026) of the company’s application for the rural broadband experiments (RBE) auction and its summary denial of the company’s waiver request, ViaSat said in a reply comment filed in docket 10-90 Monday. The Wireline Bureau denied its application on Dec. 5 and denied 16 other petitions in a Friday order. ViaSat's bid was rejected because it "allegedly did not satisfy the 100 millisecond latency standard," but the company’s application stated that it would fulfill the RBE program requirements, it said. ViaSat said the bureau didn’t conduct the RBE reverse auction in a fair manner by failing to give its application a "hard look" and seeking comment for other waiver requests, but not its own. ViaSat argued against NTCA’s assertion that the company submitted its application improperly and ignored the legal significance of voice telephony service. The FCC declined to comment.
Dish Network began carrying El Rey Network, an English-language network founded by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, on channel 253, the direct broadcast satellite company said in a news release Thursday.
Dish Network customers will be able to use the Reverse AutoHop feature on the Hopper DVR Monday to watch only the commercials from Sunday’s Super Bowl, Dish said in a news release Thursday. This requires customers to have the PrimeTime Anytime feature for NBC, it said.
DirecTV created a Severe Weather Mix channel solely for coverage of winter storm Juno, it said in a news release Tuesday. The channel, available on 205, 362-1 and 600, was to show customers nationwide national storm coverage on one screen from CNN, Fox News, HLN, MSNBC, WeatherNation and The Weather Channel, and was to remain until the storm passed, it said.
There's a bipartisan consensus that the FCC "should move promptly with actions to reallocate the 1675-1680 MHz band to commercial use," said LightSquared counsel Covington & Burling in an ex parte letter filed Monday that has not yet appeared in docket 12-340. "LightSquared would like to have the FCC issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that says, 'we should auction the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spectrum. Does anyone have any reactions to that?'" said former chairman of the FCC Reed Hundt, now at the Coalition for Green Capital. "LightSquared is filing a question to the FCC." The letter included a Wall Street Journalcolumn by Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and Megan Smith, the U.S. chief technology officer, about NOAA freeing up this spectrum and moving its system of satellites. "Here’s the White House giving its views in a public way, saying let’s do it," Hundt said. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 requested the commission to reallocate this band, the letter said. The letter also included a NOAA filing at the FCC that details plans to transition the spectrum band to commercial use. In 2012, LightSquared filed a petition to reallocate to commercial use spectrum NOAA currently uses for weather balloon communications. The FCC declined to comment.
Hughes Network Systems will begin offering HughesNet Gen4 service plans with SmartTechnologies, it said in a news release Wednesday. The new plans improve data compression, website loading, download speeds and raise Bonus Bytes to 50 GB a month, which gives customers extra data allowance that they can use during off-peak hours, it said.