The FCC International Bureau’s decision to decline EchoStar’s application for a new C-band satellite on the basis of a pattern of speculative applications (CD July 30 p9) was a surprisingly strict move by the bureau, said satellite industry executives. While the bureau’s decision limits the number of applications the company can file, it remains unclear how it will affect its bottom line, the company said. EchoStar will respond to the action within the next month, it said. It’s thought to be the first time the bureau had used the rule as the basis for declining an application, the executives said.

Motorola, which signed an agreement with San Francisco Bay Area public safety agencies to deploy an LTE network, sees interest from major cities throughout the country, Bob Schassler, vice president of North America Government Markets, said in an interview Thursday. Meanwhile, the company posted a Q2 net income of $162 million versus $26 million a year ago.

Negotiations for a possible compromise on broadband reclassification and net neutrality, hosted by FCC Chief of Staff Eddie Lazarus, intensified this week, with industry officials at the commission for two additional days of discussions and a call scheduled for late Thursday. What is being described as a “marathon” Saturday meeting is also on tap, set to start at 8 a.m. that day. Hill pressure on the commission to reach a compromise is also growing, with Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., telling FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski he’s not pleased with responses to his May 27 letter posing questions about the agency’s work on broadband reclassification.

The FCC is ready to handle payphone-compensation problems as needed, Wireline Bureau Chief Sharon Gillett told a commission symposium looking at ways to streamline and improve the dial-around compensation process for payphone calls. A dial-around call is made using an access code or toll-free number instead of coins. “Payphones are very important today, as ever, particularly in times of emergency or for consumers who don’t have access to any other form of wireline or wireless telephone service,” Gillett said. Section 276 of the Communications Act requires payphone service providers (PSPs) be compensated fairly for calls, she noted: “Our challenge today is to ensure that PSPs are compensated for all completed calls, including dial-around calls.”

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The U.S. should lead the world in developing technologies and devices to improve healthcare and reduce its costs, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Thursday. “There are many areas in which we need to lead,” he said in a discussion of telemedicine at Children’s Hospital Oakland. “This is absolutely one of them.” The opportunity is great to improve services, reduce costs and create new jobs, he said, calling it a “triple win.” Genachowski said seizing this chance is one of his priorities. Under an expanded health-connectivity subsidy that will provide $400 million to help connect hospitals to broadband, the FCC will give the California Telehealth Network a $22.1 million grant, he said. The first installment, $2.5 million, is being approved to be spent as soon as possible, he said.

Applicants have tempered their optimism about Google’s ultra-fast fiber-to-the-premises project, and many are looking for alternatives, said lawyers who advise municipalities. In February, Google said it would build a 1 Gbps broadband network in one or more cities (CD Feb 11 p1). Nearly 1,100 U.S. communities applied for the testbed program, but for many of them disillusionment has begun to set in, said municipal lawyer Nicholas Miller of Miller & Van Eaton. Google hasn’t changed the terms of the offer, and no one we talked with is contending otherwise.

The FCC could use auction proceeds to pay spectrum users that voluntarily give up their frequencies, under bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla. The narrowly written, three-page bill would help the U.S. achieve the National Broadband Plan’s goal of finding 500 MHz of spectrum for broadband in the next 10 years, said Boucher. “It’s great to see the movement in Congress we're seeing on incentive auctions,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in an interview.

Equipment makers could seek grants to develop public-safety devices that support voice, data and video communications in the 700 MHz spectrum, under a bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. HR-5907 would set up a $70 million competition, run by NTIA, for research and development grants. “This process will produce devices ready for first responders’ use within five years -- hopefully sooner,” Harman said Wednesday on the House floor.

British Sky Broadcasting will begin to offer its first 3D channel, 3D Sky, in October, the company said Thursday. The channel won’t require a set-top box upgrade and will be free to BSkyB customers already subscribed to the company’s top HD and channels package, it said. The immediate financial effect on the U.K. direct broadcast satellite provider remains unclear, CEO Jeremy Darroch said on an earnings teleconference.

Comcast executives have become happier with their deal to buy control of NBC Universal since the it was disclosed in December, they told investors Wednesday on an earnings teleconference. The strong rebound in advertising at NBC Universal’s programming networks and Comcast’s cable systems and programming assets bode well for the union, executives said. They project ads will make up about $10 billion of the company’s annual revenue after the deal closes, up from $2.5 billion today.