The FCC adopted new rules to mitigate ground path interference between 17/24 GHz Broadcasting Satellite Service (BSS) and direct broadcast satellite. In an order released Tuesday in docket 06-123, it said it won't subject existing DBS feeder-link stations to new interference mitigation requirements, grandfathering them from the rules adopted in the order. It also opted not to set up protection zones around existing DBS feeder-link earth stations that transmit in the 17.3-17.7 GHz band, saying it preferred BSS operators determine optimal separation distance between their earth stations and the feeder-link stations on an ad hoc basis. And it adopted a two-part test for letting existing feeder-link operators modify their networks or add antennas if aggregate power flux density from the additions doesn't surpass the aggregate PFD from the existing station and if any new antenna is within a kilometer of existing authorized feeder-link station antennas.
Citing the "extraordinarily complex and unprecedented engineering feat" of replacing its 66-satellite constellation with its next-generation Next constellation, Iridium is asking to park as many as 16 first-gen satellites in temporary storage orbit as spares. In a pair of International Bureau applications Friday (see here and here), Iridium asked for special temporary authority to supplement the one first-gen satellite the agency already approved for storage orbit. Iridium said while the first-gen constellation is being replaced, it will need to put some of them in storage orbit "to ensure that the most robust satellites are in operation at all times." It said the need to put first-gen satellites in storage orbits will end when the Next constellation, including spares, is fully launched and operational.
Citing "an anomaly" in EchoStar 8 operations, EchoStar plans to deorbit the satellite. In an International Bureau filing Friday, it said it previously informed the bureau's satellite division staff of an anomaly that happened April 16, and that despite attempts at resolving it the company experienced difficulties in keeping the satellite within its station-keeping box. Deorbit could come as soon as Monday, it said.
Intelsat and Starz renewed their distribution agreement for Intelsat to provide broadcast and satellite distribution forStarz, Intelsat said in a news release Friday.
The Senate should confirm the Trump administration's two nominations to the board of the Export-Import Bank, since those confirmations would give the board a quorum again and let the bank provide credit support to projects $10 million and larger, the Satellite Industry Association (SIA) said in a statement Friday. SIA said Ex-Im "has been virtually closed" for more than a year to the satellite industry due to the vacant board seats. The White House earlier this month said it was nominating former Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., as Ex-Im president, and Spencer Bachus of Bachus & Brom as board member.
Planet Labs closed on its acquisition of Google's Terra Bella subsidiary, Planet Labs CEO Will Marshall said in a blog post Tuesday. Marshall said the integration of Terra Bella's SkySat constellation and imagery will open the door to such offerings as tipping-off or cueing electrical optical satellite systems for better maritime domain awareness. The FCC International Bureau approved transfer of control in the deal last week.
Malaysia Airlines is the inaugural customer of a flight tracking system involving connected aircraft services firm SITAOnAir, flight tracking company FlightAware and Aireon, which is deploying a satellite-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system. According to a media release Tuesday, the system adds Aireon's ADS-B data to FlightAware's information from multiple global sources. It said the Aireon system is expected to be operational in 2018 with the completion of Iridium's Next satellite constellation.
Operation of a OneWeb low earth orbit (LEO) constellation is years off, but Intelsat is contemplating numerous applications for government and civil agency customers, said Intelsat General President Skot Butler in a blog post Tuesday. The OneWeb/Intelsat planned merger is aimed at making Intelsat General "a one-stop" geostationary/LEO service provider, with applications including provision of tactical Wi-Fi service for military operations in the field and support of unmanned aircraft systems operations over the Arctic.
No single avoidance angle will sufficiently define in-line events and prevent interference, Telesat Canada executives told all three FCC commissioners, according to a docket 16-408 ex parte filing posted Tuesday. The avoidance angle between two systems depends on elevation angles, Telesat Canada said, saying a "share in-line events" regime for spectrum essentially would work as band segmentation due to the number and frequency of such events. The company plans a constellation of 117 interconnected low earth orbit satellites, with two prototypes to launch this year, and said it met with the FCC to discuss its petition for access to the U.S. market for its non-geostationary constellation (see 1611160010). The filing said Telesat Canada representatives -- CEO Dan Goldberg, Senior Vice President-Corporate and Business Development Michael Schwartz and Chief Technical Officer Dave Wendling -- also met with International Bureau staffers, including acting Chief Tom Sullivan.
A permanent injunction against the companies behind the TVpad set-top box needs to be modified because the defendants continue to pirate copyrighted programming through a comparable product, said Dish Network and broadcasters China Central TV (CCTV) and TVB Holdings in a motion to amend (in PACER) filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Dish and the others sued in 2015, alleging the plaintiffs -- including Create New Technology (CNT), Hua Yang International Technology, TVpad.com and NewTVpad.com -- were infringing on CCTV and TVB programming, with Dish having exclusive rights to that content in the U.S. The plaintiffs received a permanent injunction last August, but the defendants now are marketing an identical device, blueTV, that functions the same as TVpad, Dish and the others said. CNT and Hua Yang couldn't be reached for comment.