The sole technical characteristic of an appropriate battery backup for a Hughes modem is 3000 volt-ampere-hours, said Hughes Network Systems in an ex parte filing at the FCC. The FCC asked the company what would be the necessary characteristics of a uninterruptible power supply device that is capable of providing eight hours of backup power, Hughes said. Those battery backups are available at major consumer electronic stores, the ex parte letter said.
Samsung is using the SES Industry Days event in Luxembourg through Thursday to demonstrate the first DVB transmission of high-dynamic-range Ultra HD TV, using content transmitted via an SES satellite directly to a Samsung set using “hybrid gamma” HDR technology, the TV maker said Wednesday. The demo is a “major milestone for the Ultra HD broadcast chain,” Samsung said. It shows for the first time how industry can launch new HDR services over DVB, “which can fully exploit the capabilities of the next generation of consumer displays,” it said.
The FCC should adopt proposed rules to add 22 MHz to U.S. wireless broadband spectrum inventory and ease the congestion that's diminishing the quality of Wi-Fi service at high-traffic 802.11 hot spots and other locations, Globalstar said in an FCC filing posted Monday in docket 13-213. Globalstar also expressed support for the rules because they would let the company provide low-power terrestrial mobile broadband service in its own licensed and unlicensed spectrum, it said. Globalstar General Counsel Barbee Ponder and others met with officials including International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre and Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp. Others have been skeptical that the company's mobile broadband service is ready to be deployed because of concerns over interference (see 1504280038).
Hughes Network Systems announced its portable BGAN terminal, the Hughes 9211-HDR, that instantly supports communications-on-the-move applications by docking to an active tracking antenna mounted to a vehicle, said the company in a news release Tuesday. The 9211-HDR combined portable/mobile satellite terminal can dock with a Class 10 or Class 11 mobile antenna to support BGAN communications on-the-move, it said. The terminal can connect at background IP speeds of up to 400+ kbps in both transmit and receive, Hughes said.
The FCC International Bureau granted EchoStar’s request to extend the term of its license for the EchoStar 6 satellite until Jan. 31, 2019. The satellite operates at 96.2 degrees west. “We conclude that grant of the requested license modification is consistent with our practices concerning granting extensions of license terms and will serve the public interest by continuing to facilitate possible development of new services to the Atlantic Ocean region,” the bureau said Tuesday. The license term expired Aug. 11, 2014, the bureau said. EchoStar sought an extension June 19, 2014.
LightSquared hasn't pursued any "significant site development activity" related to a two-way terrestrial mobile service in recent months, it told the FCC in a commission-required update dated April 30 and posted in docket 08-184 Monday. It said the development pause is because of the agency's 2012 public notice recommending a waiver to the company be vacated and LightSquared's ancillary terrestrial component authority be put on hold. "LightSquared has focused its efforts on resolving the underlying spectrum and deployment issues identified by the Commission," it said, noting that in September 2012, it proposed ways to deploy terrestrial broadband service to ensure operations are compatible with GPS receivers. The company said Qualcomm has integrated L-band LTE technology in its chipset road map and "developed an advanced satellite air interface technology" for satellite mode operation of mobile devices. LightSquared last month sought FCC OK of foreign ownership, as it's exiting bankruptcy (see 1504160047).
Inmarsat launched its first vehicular antenna for the IsatPhone 2, the company said in a Thursday news release. Designed by AeroAntenna Technology, the external, vehicle-mounted, active antenna enables IsatPhone 2 users to have high quality, uninterrupted voice connectivity while on the move, the company said. The new antenna kit will be beneficial for organizations with teams traveling in remote locations, Inmarsat said.
Continuing demand for satellite communications will translate to continued spending on military satellite terminals, forecast Strategy Analytics. North America is estimated to have the largest demand, but will be superseded by spending from the Asia-Pacific region from 2017 onward, said the report, according to a Thursday news release.
Hughes Satellite revenue likely will rise by a mid- to high-single digit percentage in the next few years, driven by its satellite broadband segment, said Standard & Poor's Wednesday, raising the company's credit rating to BB- from B+. The rating might be cut if the satellite broadband business weakens over the next year, such as through increased customer churn or adding fewer subscribers.
Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology contracted with Lockheed Martin to manufacture two A2100 communications satellites, which will be used for Internet, phone, TV and secure communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, said an Arabsat news release Tuesday. Lockheed Martin, KACST and Taqnia Space, a subsidiary of Saudi Technology Investment and Development Co., signed an agreement to explore future design, manufacture, assembly and integration of satellites in Saudi Arabia. The two satellites will boost Arabsat's fleet to 10 in-orbit operational satellites, the release said. It said the contracts were signed April 9, with construction starting immediately and planned 2018 launch.