The third satellite in Inmarsat's Global Xpress constellation, Inmarsat-5 F3, is scheduled to launch Aug. 28, with the company's global commercial high-speed broadband service expected to commence by the end of the year, the satellite company said in a Monday news release. The satellite is to go up from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. F3 will cover the Pacific Ocean region as part of Global Xpress' global high-speed broadband service. F1 was launched in December 2013.
The FCC International Bureau approved blanket authority for Inmarsat to operate its aircraft-mounted GX Terminals, which will provide high-speed satellite broadband services to aviation customers over its Global Xpress Ka-band satellite network. The approval, given Tuesday, lets the JetWave MCS-8200 and MCS-8000 terminals communicate with Inmarsat-5 F2, one of the satellites in its Global Xpress constellation, due to launch in coming months.
Gilat Satellite Networks and Space Star Technology jointly will provide the satellite communications network for ChinaSat 16, the first Ka-band high-throughput multispot-beam satellite in China, Gilat said in a Wednesday news release. Gilat's contributions will include its SkyEdge II-c technology in the network segments and very small aperture terminals, and consulting with Space Star, Gilat said.
SpaceX continues to fail to assuage interference and collision-avoidance issues as it seeks FCC approval for its experimental satellite system, Intelsat said in an Office of Engineering and Technology filing submitted Monday. Intelsat and SpaceX repeatedly have clashed over SpaceX plans to launch test satellites in advance of a low Earth orbit constellation providing a global broadband service, with SpaceX accusing Intelsat of fishing for proprietary information (see 1507310040). Intelsat said Monday that its request for more information "was not frivolous," and argued SpaceX is incorrect when it says it has provided sufficient detail regarding interference and collision issues. "The company's continued reluctance to demonstrate compliance with all relevant FCC requirements makes it impossible for co-frequency systems, such as Intelsat, to assess interference potential," Intelsat said. That no one from SpaceX has talked to Intelsat's technical or launch team to designate a point person is a clear-cut violation of obligations under collision-avoidance rules, Intelsat said.
DirecTV is expanding the footprint of NFLSundayTicket.TV to noncustomers. The NFL Sunday Ticket streaming service now is available to apartment, condominium and townhouse residents not now receiving DirecTV, and to consumers unable to install a DirecTV dishes at home due to obstructions or other restrictions, AT&T said in a Monday news release. It's also offering it to students at four-year schools at student pricing, AT&T said. The Sunday Ticket online streaming packages start at $49.99 a month for four months, or $24.99 a month for four months for students. The second product announcement since AT&T bought DirecTV extends the package to all connected devices, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche wrote investors. Last week, AT&T unveiled a triple-play lineup (see 1508030030).
Despite what EchoStar says, relying on ITU coordination instead of FCC two-degree spacing rules to mitigate signal interference issues "would help, not hurt, satellite competition," Intelsat said in a filing posted Monday in docket 12-267. Intelsat and EchoStar have been at loggerheads over Intelsat's recommendation to end two-degree spacing and go with ITU filing priority as the basis for coordination requirements (see 1508050034). As numerous new national satellite operators emerged in recent years in multiple areas, "it therefore hardly seems as if the ITU’s processes are hindering new entrants seeking to provide communications satellite services," Intelsat said. "ITU coordination procedures facilitate market entry because they require good faith negotiations between sovereigns/operators -- even by the senior rights holder." Meanwhile, relatively few geostationary satellites have been licensed by the FCC in that time, Intelsat said. Relying on ITU coordination "would allow U.S. licensees to better meet the demand for services utilizing small antennas, such as mobility services," Intelsat said.
The FCC should issue its decision on the Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association 2012 petition against Philadelphia's satellite dish ordinance (see 1404220028) on over-the-air reception device rules, said Darrell Clarke (D), president of the Philadelphia City Council, in a letter to the FCC. Since the proceeding has been closed since February 2012 and the petition itself is almost four years old, Clarke asked the commission to consider the impact of the continued delay on the needs and interests of the city's residents.
OneWeb joined the Satellite Industry Association, SIA said in a Thursday news release. OneWeb earlier this year announced plans to launch 648 Ku-band low Earth orbit satellites, which would tie into Intelsat's geosynchronous satellite constellation and create a satellite-provided broadband network expected to go live in 2019 (see 1506260025).
Harris CapRock Communications seeks FCC International Bureau approval for C- and Ku-band sea tests and trials of its SpaceTrack ST5000-2.4 earth station onboard vessel terminal (ESV), as well as an Intellian v240M ESV. In an IB submission Wednesday, Harris CapRock said it expects to start testing Aug. 14 on a pair of Carnival cruise ships and to run up to 180 days. The company is developing ESVs to communicate with both geostationary and non-geostationary fixed satellite service satellites.
Iridium is a step closer to its Iridium Certus broadband service. The company said Wednesday it received the first broadband core transceiver prototypes for interoperability testing on the Iridium Next satellite network infrastructure. The prototypes will be used by manufacturing partners to design and build products for the aeronautical, maritime and land mobile markets that will be compatible with its broadband service. Next satellites are expected to start launching late this year, with commercial service expected by late 2016.