ViaSat consolidated all its sub-brands, such as Exede and Yonder, into the ViaSat master brand, in a rebranding campaign, it said Thursday. It rolled out a new logo. Expanding into consumer, aviation and maritime markets, "There is greater value for us to present one unified brand," said CEO Mark Dankberg.

Since KMTP-TV San Francisco sent its must-carry election via priority express mail instead of the certified mail specified in FCC rules, the carriage complaint filed by licensee Minority TV Project should be dismissed, Dish Network said in a docket 17-313 response posted Thursday. It said the KMTP complaint was premature since the broadcaster hasn't written Dish indicating why it believes the company isn't living up to its carriage obligations, as FCC rules mandate. Station owner Minority TV Project, in its complaint earlier this month, said Dish was following a "hyper-technical" reading of the rules regarding mailing (see 1711130057). Counsel for KMTP didn't comment.

The EchoStar/Dish Network petition for writ of certiorari in its fight with Florida over its communications services tax, along with related briefs, will be distributed to Supreme Court justices Jan. 5, the docket said Wednesday. Dish is appealing a Florida Supreme Court decision in April rejecting a 2005 lawsuit alleging the tax violates the Commerce Clause by charging a higher rate on direct broadcast satellite than on cable TV (see 1711280001).

The EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite is in its 105 degree west orbital slot and available for commercial service, EchoStar said Wednesday. The Ku- and C-band satellite was launched Oct. 11 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it said.

Orbital ATK's shareholders OK'd Northrup Grumman's proposed buy of the satellite company, Northrup Grumman said Wednesday. It said it expects the deal to close before Q3, after getting regulatory approvals. The $9.2 billion sale isn't considered likely to face significant regulatory concerns (see 1709180041).

All 10 Iridium Next satellites for the broadband satellite constellation's fourth launch are in processing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, with the launch scheduled for Dec. 22, the company said Tuesday. It said the launch will be the midway point of its SpaceX launch campaign and the first of two Iridium Next launches employing reused SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. It said with that launch, 40 Next constellation satellites will be in orbit, more than half the 66 required for an operational constellation. It contracted with SpaceX for eight launches to carry a total of 75 Next satellites into orbit, including nine spares.

SiriusXM and a California motorist are at odds over a lawsuit alleging violations of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) for sending out solicitations and calling new buyers of satellite radio-enabled cars. In a docket 5:17-cv-01724 motion (in Pacer) for summary judgment Monday in U.S. District Court in Riverside, the company said it's not a DPPA violation to access or use information provided by a consumer pursuant to a business transaction, such as buying a car, and a motor vehicle record under the DPPA doesn't include information obtained from a source other than the department of motor vehicles. In a motion (in Pacer) to certify the class, plaintiff James Andrews said the name and address information in the dealer management system came from his California driver's license, thus constituting a motor vehicle record. Andrews said the proposed class could number more than 100,000.

The Florida Supreme Court analyzed discriminatory effects of the state's communications services tax (CST) based purely on the basis of domicile, an approach conflicting with rulings by most courts and with U.S. Supreme Court precedent, said EchoStar Satellite/Dish Network in a U.S. Supreme Court docket 17-379 reply brief Monday. The company is appealing the Florida court's April opinion tossing out a 2005 lawsuit arguing the CST violates the Commerce Clause by charging a higher rate on direct broadcast satellite than on cable TV; the court said neither cable nor DBS qualified as an in-state interest, negating the satellite companies' discriminatory effect argument, and there's no evidence state lawmakers adopted the CST with discriminatory purpose. EchoStar said the morass of Commerce Clause doctrine makes it "vital for the Court to step in" to give certainty over divided courts looking at the constitutionality of state laws differentiating between interstate competitors. The Florida Department of Revenue, in a brief filed earlier this month in opposition to the DBS petition for writ of certiorari, said it overlooks that Florida taxes satellite differently because Congress prohibited local taxation of satellite services in the Telecom Act, so the state shares such tax receipts with localities. It ignores that satellite's overall CST burden is less than cable TV's, the state said.

The C-band is a likely target for global consensus for launching commercial 5G in 2019, ABI Research said Monday. It said industry field trials and lab work often have focused on millimeter wave frequencies, but recent regulatory announcements by close to 20 countries point to the C-band being the most common spectrum identified for 5G. It said a wide variety of low-, medium- and high-band spectrum will be necessary long term for 5G, but in the near term, millimeter wave spectrum use for 5G services is hampered by technology challenges and availability. Meanwhile, C-band with its global harmonization is a bigger opportunity for large-scale deployment, it said.

CBS content is returning to Dish Network's lineup as the two companies reached a multiyear carriage agreement for CBS' owned local stations, CBS Sports Network, Pop and the Smithsonian Channel, Dish said Friday. Terms weren't made public. The blackout started Tuesday and affected 28 stations in 18 markets (see 1711210026).