The 465,000 new subscribers added in Q1 mean SiriusXM's subscriber base topped 30 million, it said in a news release Monday. Self-pay additions were 348,000 for the quarter, leaving its self-pay subscriber base at 24.6 million as of March 31, it said.
The postponed launch of WorldView-4 is back on, and scheduled for the September-October time frame, DigitalGlobe said in an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. It said the FCC approved the earth imaging satellite as part of the non-geostationary exploration earth satellite services constellation in 2012, but that launch was postponed after GeoEye's 2013 takeover by DigitalGlobe. The firm asked for modification of the orbit altitude, inclination and orbit period authorized for WorldView-4, with the orbit to be in the 496-770 kilometer range. DigitalGlobe also asked for an extension of the "launch and begin operations" milestone deadline by seven months, to Nov. 10, instead of the current requirement it be launched by April 10. Construction of the satellite was complete in May 2013, the company said.
Netflix's Ultra HD content is now available through Dish Network's Hopper 3 DVR, with its 4K support, decoding and outputting capabilities, Dish said in a news release Friday. The Hopper 3 also supports 4K programming from Mance Media, Sony and The Orchard, Dish said. The Netflix app was integrated into Hopper 3's universal search feature earlier this year (see 1602010019).
Intelsat 31 is scheduled to launch May 28, and Intelsat asked the FCC International Bureau for special temporary authority starting June 4 to do in-orbit testing at 76.5 degrees west and to drift it to its permanent home at 95.05 degrees west. The drift is expected to take about three weeks, Intelsat said in its IB filing Wednesday. The company said it's in coordination discussions with Arsat, DirecTV, SES, Star One and Venesat, all of which have co-frequency/co-coverage satellites within six degrees of 76.5 degrees west, and expects to have them complete before launch.
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals failed to follow its own 2011 In re DBSD ruling on the Bankruptcy Code when it approved LightSquared's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan, former CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said in a petition (in Pacer) for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc filed Wednesday with the court. The 2nd Circuit rejected an appeal by Ahuja, who was a major stakeholder in the satellite company (see 1603230021) and who complained previously and again in the petition that majority shareholder Harbinger Capital was made more than whole. In his petition, Ahuja said, "Self-dealing and manipulation of the reorganization process by controlling shareholders ... was exactly the abuse that DBSD ... sought to curb." In a statement Thursday, LightSquared -- now Ligado -- said it's "confident the court will stand by its decision."
Airlines now can get Gogo's 2Ku in-flight connectivity system installed on new Airbus A350 aircraft by the Airbus Corporate Jet Centre through an agreement with Airbus, Gogo said in a news release Wednesday. Gogo said Delta Air Lines is a customer and will receive its first 2Ku-equipped A350 in 2017.
The iHeartRadio music streaming service is now available on DTS' Play-Fi music systems via iOS and Android apps, DTS said Tuesday. The free digital radio and music streaming service gives users access to thousands of radio stations covering genres including pop, country, hip-hop, R&B, alternative, rock, talk, news, sports and comedy, and iHeartRadio listeners can also create custom, commercial-free stations from its 20 million song library, the company said. Play-Fi owners also have access to Pandora, Rhapsody, SiriusXM, Spotify and Tidal streaming services. Play-Fi hardware partners are Acer, Anthem, Definitive Technology, HP, MartinLogan, McIntosh, Paradigm, Phorus, Polk Audio and Wren. On the video side, DTS said Tuesday Lionsgate's Gods of Egypt will be available on Blu-ray Disc in the DTS:X immersive sound format on May 31.
De-orbiting maneuvers of Intelsat 702 are expected to start in early September, and until then Intelsat is seeking a 75-day extension of its license to continue operations at 32.9 degrees east. In an FCC International Bureau filing Friday, Intelsat said the license for 702 expires July 18 and the de-orbit schedule is based on manpower and schedule constraints. The de-orbit should take two to three weeks, Intelsat said.
The FTC and DirecTV are jointly asking a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco for more time for discovery in the agency's lawsuit alleging the direct broadcast satellite company wasn't properly communicating early cancellation fees that subscribers face if they sign up and then quit the service before two years (see 1503110042). In a stipulated motion Friday, the two said that while the court has indicated reluctance in making major changes to the case schedule, they proposed moving the close of fact discovery from April 22 to July 22, the close of expert discovery from July 26 to Nov. 10, and the bench trial start from Dec. 5 to Jan. 30. While there has been "considerable" discovery so far, the two said, more time is needed to deal with unexpected discovery issues including disruptions due to DirecTV's purchase by AT&T, FTC staffing issues and "unresolved disagreements and technology problems involving attempts to recover historical version of DirecTV's website." More time also would let them better resolve disputes before resorting to letter briefs, they said.
Inmarsat's Global Xpress mobile broadband service is now commercially available through resellers for enterprise customers, the satellite company said in a news release. It said satellite services company Global RadioData Communication is the first company to have an enterprise Global Xpress terminal go live commercially. It's being used in Africa by a mining organization, Inmarsat said.