Inmarsat seeks access to the U.S. market using a proposed Ka-band satellite, Inmarsat-KA 63 W. The satellite will operate under the authority of the U.K., said the FCC International Bureau in a public notice Friday (http://fcc.us/1jIeSh3). Inmarsat would like to market access to provide fixed satellite service (FSS) using the 18.3-19.3 GHz, 19.7-20.2 GHz, 28.1-29.1 GHz and 29.5-30.0 GHz bands, the bureau said. Inmarsat also seeks a waiver of the commission’s rules to permit geosynchronous orbit FSS operations in the 18.8-19.3 GHz band on a non-interference basis, it said.

ViaSat started Exede Business, a high-speed satellite Internet service for small and medium-sized businesses. It’s available “in all or portions of more than 40 states covered by the ViaSat-1 satellite,” ViaSat said in a news release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1njBwiT). It offers speeds of 15 Mbps and a total monthly data allowance of 60 GB, it said. Half of the allowance is available during the peak data period between 8 a.m. and 3 a.m., “with an additional 30 GB available in the Early Morning Data Zone from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m.,” it said.

Eutelsat and The International Media Associates (TIMA) signed an agreement for capacity on Eutelsat 10A. The satellite will provide satellite news gathering across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Eutelsat said in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/Sx7xr8). Capacity also will be used for reporting from TIMA’s studios at its central London headquarters, Eutelsat said.

LightSquared isn’t yet providing commercial service using its ancillary terrestrial component authority in light of the FCC’s public notice that recommended a modification of the company’s satellite license. The wholesale satellite capacity company remains committed to working cooperatively with Congress, federal agencies and the GPS industry “to address the concerns raised by the GPS industry and others,” LightSquared said in a semi-annual report to the FCC posted Friday in docket 08-184 (http://bit.ly/1uf2J7Y). Beginning in 2012, the company made a series of filings that proposed solutions that would allow it to deploy terrestrial broadband service “in a way that ensures that GPS receivers are compatible with LightSquared’s operations,” it said. The satellites operated by LightSquared have performed nominally and as expected over the past six months, it said.

Eutelsat signed a distribution agreement with Wireless Innovation to use Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat satellite for communication services and connectivity for temporary and mobile offices to the utilities, renewables, construction, asset management and military sectors in Europe. Ka-Sat is optimized for broadband communications, Eutelsat said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1u5bMYR). Its spotbeam configuration allows frequencies to be reused 20 times and takes total satellite throughput to beyond 90 Gbps, it said.

A federal jury awarded ViaSat $283 million in its patent infringement and breach of contract case against Space Systems Loral (SS/L). In U.S. District Court in San Diego, a jury said SS/L infringed three patents relating to the Jupiter-1 satellite, a court document said. The jury also said SS/L breached one or more of its contracts with ViaSat, it said. SS/L and its former parent company Loral said they plan to appeal. In 2008, ViaSat selected SS/L to manufacture ViaSat-1, and the award was contingent on SS/L’s “continued agreement to keep ViaSat’s revolutionary design and technology confidential,” said ViaSat’s complaint. “SS/L didn’t keep the technology confidential.” ViaSat filed the complaint after SS/L told ViaSat that it also was building the Jupiter-1 satellite for Hughes (CD Feb 6/12 p4). “Jupiter’s design is almost identical to ViaSat-1,” ViaSat said. Loral believes that SS/L’s conduct “was consistent with, and in due regard for, all applicable and valid intellectual property rights of ViaSat and that SS/L did not breach any contracts,” said Loral Vice Chairman Michael Targoff in a news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1k1IGCZ). “SSL has strong grounds for a reversal of the jury verdict, which we believe will ultimately result in vindication of our position.” Loral is obligated to indemnify SS/L for damages in the case after a “non-appealable” judgment has been entered, he said. ViaSat’s request for a permanent injunction prohibiting SS/L from further infringement is still pending, ViaSat said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1rtDlZK). If the case is appealed, an injunction would appear less likely, said Raymond James analyst Chris Quilty in a research note. If the injunction is granted, it could impact up to four satellites under construction at SS/L, Quilty said. Hearing for post-trial motions is set for July 22, the jury verdict said.

Orange Business Services seeks a license for a single 2.4-meter transmit/receive fixed satellite services earth station. Orange plans to operate the earth station in the standard C band, it said in its application to the FCC International Bureau (http://bit.ly/1hrX1Wo). Orange also seeks a license for a standard Ku-band very small aperture terminal network “of less than 100 identical terminals operating in the continental United States on a transmit/receive basis,” said a separate application (http://bit.ly/1ns0QCX).

Eutelsat concluded a deal with Hughes to provide high-throughput capacity to Brazil on the Eutelsat 65 West A satellite, scheduled for 2016 launch, Eutelsat said in a news release Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1gRCKKn). It will host a Ka-band payload with 24 spotbeams “of which 16 will cover a significant portion of the Brazilian population and generate over 24 Gbps of throughput,” Eutelsat said. The deal will be a springboard for Hughes to expand mass market broadband services to consumers and businesses in Brazil that are unserved or underserved by terrestrial networks, it said.

The FCC order last week that gave earth stations aboard aircraft (ESAA) co-primary status made a few other rule adjustments, which include applying the rules to U.S.-flagged aircraft anywhere in the world, a telecom lawyer said. The commission clarified a technical provision requiring automatic shut-off if certain things go wrong, Fletcher Heald attorney Mitchell Lazarus said in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1nEtONg). It also clarified a provision on the reliability of the mechanism that points the antenna at the satellite, he said: “Other co-primary users and ESAA must all protect one another on equal terms.” The FCC released a second report and order last week (CD April 21 p17).

Harris Corp. got a $133 million U.S. Navy contract to provide broadband satellite communication terminals. The terminals will give crews access to high-bandwidth voice and data communications, Harris said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1jrOowc). Harris will provide up to 120 terminals, it said. The contract adds to the 70 terminals delivered under an existing indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, Harris said. It brings the total potential value to more than $250 million, it said.