The satellite industry's years of big growth of direct-to-home (DTH) and video distribution are over, but linear TV "will remain the bread and butter" of the fixed satellite service industry for years, said Northern Sky Research analyst Alan Crisp in a blog post Wednesday. NSR said major markets such as the U.S., India and parts of Western Europe are either saturated or stagnating, but growth opportunities remain for enhanced content quality and ethnic programming, and developing regions will see growth for some time of DTH and video distribution. The firm said the number of leased Ku-band DTH channels in developing markets will grow by roughly 50 percent, to more than 12,000 by 2026, while over-the-top video and the general maturity of the North America/Western European markets mean channel growth in the time frame there will be a more modest 10 percent, to roughly 4,100 channels.

Alaska Airlines is moving to satellite broadband for its cabins, with plans to begin retrofitting all its Boeings starting in fall 2018, with Airbus retrofits to follow, it said in a blog post Wednesday. It said both fleets will be satellite equipped by the end of 2019. The airline -- which bought Virgin America last year -- is retiring that brand in 2019.

Non-geostationary orbit satellite operations in worst-case rain conditions in the 37.5-40 GHz band have negligible impact on upper microwave flexible use service (UMFUS) operations, said a Boeing technical analysis given to the FCC International Bureau Satellite Division. An ex parte filing Wednesday in docket 14-177 recapped a call with division personnel about the analysis, which said modeling shows the effect on UMFUS is less than 0.65 dB. The call included division Chief Jose Albuquerque and Boeing engineers. The firm is seeking FCC approval for a V-band mega-constellation (see 1606230050).

ViaSat staffers met with FCC officials on the recent Connect America Fund Phase II order setting some details for a reverse auction of subsidy support for fixed broadband services (see 1702230019). "The discussion focused on the potential impact on satellite broadband bidders of the adopted reverse-auction bid weighting mechanism, and was based on the analytical framework described in Exhibit A of the ViaSat ex parte submission of February 21, 2017 (as adjusted for adopted bid weighting)," said a company filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90 on the meeting with International Bureau officials. ViaSat had urged the FCC to encourage broadband deployment in a "baseline" 25/3 Mbps tier (see 1702170048). But Commissioner Mike O'Rielly suggested Feb. 23 the FCC bid weights favor "above baseline" (100/20 Mbps) "gigabit" (1 Gbps/500 Mbps) tiers.

A biennial review of telecom rules could be used to streamline FCC Part 25 licensing rules for satellites, EchoStar lawyers told International Bureau officials. An applicant should have the option to get umbrella authority to operate its network of satellites, gateway earth stations and user terminals, EchoStar told acting IB Chief Tom Sullivan, Deputy Chief Troy Tanner, Chief Engineer Robert Nelson, Satellite Division Chief Jose Albuquerque and others (their job positions according to the IB), it recounted in a filing Tuesday in docket 16-131. "The FCC should enable satellite operators to relocate U.S.-licensed satellites, subject to certain conditions, on a pro forma basis." With IoT, 5G, machine to machine and other services, operators need FCC "regulatory certainty and flexibility comparable to that afforded by other administrations," said the company.

Intelsat extended media services contracts with Sentech and Orion Express, the company said in news releases (here and here). It said its new Sentech deal will bolster delivery of direct-to-home and digital terrestrial TV services in sub-Saharan Africa via Intelsat 20, and Orion Express signed a multiyear extension for direct-to-home and media distribution services in Russia via Intelsat 15. Intelsat said its Orion Express deal lasts into the 2020s and sees Intelsat performing some services that had been done by another satellite operator.

SSL and DigitalGlobe are asking for FCC International Bureau approval for an SSL takeover of the remote sensing satellite operator. A transfer of control application submitted Monday said the combination would let them offer "end-to-end space systems, Earth imagery and geospatial solutions." They said DigitalGlobe employs three non-geostationary orbit satellites, WorldView-1, -2 and -3, and has four fixed earth station licenses. They said DigitalGlobe will operate as a stand-alone division under SSL, and keep the DigitalGlobe name, brand and Colorado headquarters, and that SSL parent MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates will apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in addition to the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The potential Intelsat/OneWeb deal isn't just a satellite transaction but "a single piece in a puzzle" being assembled by Masayoshi "Masa" Son, CEO of SoftBank, a major backer of OneWeb that's also putting $1.7 billion into the deal, Northern Sky Research analyst Blaine Curcio said in a NSR blog post Sunday. SoftBank and Son seem to be driving toward a future of 5G, autonomous vehicles and machine-to-machine IoT through investments into such areas as semiconductors and robotics and partnerships with automakers, NSR said. A key step in an IoT connected world model would be cheap, ubiquitous coverage, such as what could be provided through Intelsat, NSR said. It said a variety of satellite challenges include OneWeb securing landing rights internationally; development of cheap, portable terminals; tackling interference issues; and Intelsat's finances. The firm said the deal "appears to put Intelsat/OneWeb at a massive head start" for creating such an integrated system.

Terra Bella Technologies wants to add six satellites to its remote sensing constellation. In an FCC International Bureau application Friday, the Google subsidiary said it expects to start launching the low earth orbit satellites, SkySat-16 through SkySat-21, as early as September 2018. It said it has seven satellites in operation, with SkySat-8 through SkySat-15 expected to launch this year. The license application comes as Planet Labs is seeking regulatory approval to buy Terra Bella. The FTC signed off on the deal, said an early termination notice Friday. The two announced the deal in February. The transfer of control also is awaiting International Bureau OK (see 1702160010). Terra Bella said it sought IB approval of the additional satellites independent of the license transfer proceeding.

SES wants to relocate AMC-6 to 85 degrees west, where it will supplement the Ku-band service provided by AMC-2 and AMC-16 satellites. In a pair of FCC International Bureau filings Thursday (see here and here), SES asked for modification of its AMC-6 license to allow relocation from 67 degrees west, and for a 60-day special temporary authority starting May 14 to let the company do that relocation while its license modification is pending. The company said it plans to launch its SES-10 to 67 degrees west at the end of March, with it being fully operational by early May, making AMC-6 available for relocation.