Clearing part of the C-band for terrestrial use may mean a windfall in the mid to high single-digit billions of dollars for Intelsat and SES, available for eliminating debt and investing in new constellations and services, Northern Sky Research analyst Gagan Agrawal blogged Thursday. The two have close to 90 percent of the C-band capacity in the U.S., largely for video distribution, but spectrum rights are expiring next decade and the performance of the C-band business is declining due to capacity pricing issues and over-the-top competition to pay TV, NSR said. Compensating cable head-ends for filters and ground equipment could cost around $900 million, it said. Other costs could include SES and Intelsat each needing to put up a new satellite to retain video customers with Ku-band service. It said the entire value of 3.7-4.2 GHz, minus 50 to 100 MHz for a guard band, could be $60 billion-$75 billion. However, it said, regulators might force C-band satellite operators to invest proceeds in an already saturated U.S. market, reducing the ultimate cash benefit.

Univision is complaining to the FCC and FTC about -- and suing Dish Network over -- advertising by the direct broadcast satellite company featuring Univision, even though its content went dark on Dish at June's end (see 1807020030). Dish said the marketing materials were an oversight. In a letter dated Monday to the agencies' chairmen, Univision said Dish made "excuses" for its materials but continued to market Univision program services months after they were dropped and Dish should waive cancellation fees for customers who signed up since June 30 and release from contract customers who had watched the broadcaster extensively. In a docket 17-cv-05148-AJN-OTW amended answer and counterclaim (in Pacer) last week in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Univision alleged Dish did false advertising, breached a contract and infringed trademarks for advertising on its website and on flyers and the site of a Dish retailer that Dish still distributed Univision services. Dish sought unspecified damages and permanent injunction against using Univision logos and marks when it doesn't have a right to distribute that programming. Dish emailed it's "a business dispute," with Univision demanding "considerably" higher fees "despite a material decline in its overall ratings." It said when channels went dark, it tried to remove references on marketing materials and websites, but the logos of some Univision channels were inadvertently left on regarding a package and have been removed. It's providing its DishLatino customers with a $5 monthly credit, replacement content and antennas in select markets.

Announcing $16 million in Series A financing Monday, in-space connectivity company Kepler Communications said the money will go toward its Gen1 satellite constellation, to be put into service by the end of 2020 and include as many as 15 nanosatellites beyond its Kipp satellite in orbit, its Case satellite scheduled for November launch and its Tars satellite scheduled for launch in 2019.

Saying they generally support plans to clear part of the C-band for 5G, small satellite operators told the FCC approval should be conditioned on the C-Band Alliance of Intelsat, Eutelsat, SES and Telesat crafting "an equitable allocation mechanism" to compensate the smaller operators for their U.S. C-band investments. A docket 18-122 posting Monday recapped a meeting between Hispasat and ABS executives with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai and with representatives of the Wireless and International bureaus and the Office of Engineering and Technology. The satellite operators cited their C-band facilities: ABS' ABS-3A designed to serve North America and other areas in the C-band, Hispasat's Amazonas-3 designed to transmit between U.S. points in the C-band, and Star One having three satellites capable of transmitting to and from U.S. points in the C-band. They said none of the small operators has had revenue yet from C-band services to and from U.S. points, but "all intend to do so." They said the alliance hasn't explained how it would divide proceeds remaining after band-clearing activities, and that satellite operators and customers should be compensated for investments in C-band facilities to serve the U.S. They said such an equitable approach might involve the amount of C-band spectrum and transponders capable of communicating with the U.S. and authorized on the FCC's permitted satellite list. Tuesday (see here, here and here), the alliance recapped meetings with Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel and an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr urging "moving expeditiously" on opening the C-band to 5G and saying it will seek consensus on technical parameters like power levels that are important to 5G deployment. The alliance said its plan would let interested parties enter secondary market agreements.

The FCC should start processing satellite applications that include use of the 50.4-51.4 GHz band, conditioned on the outcome of the proposed licensing for fixed satellite service earth stations operating in the band, EchoStar said in a docket 14-177 posting Monday. It said akin to the 24 GHz, 28 GHz and 47 GHz bands, a limited number of individually licensed FSS earth stations can share the 50 GHz band without big effect on terrestrial operations.

Article III of the Constitution, on federal court jurisdiction, precludes U.S. district courts from certifying class actions that include uninjured absent class members, said defense bar trade group DRI in a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals amicus brief Wednesday urging vacating a Telephone Consumer Protection Act verdict against Dish Network (see here, docket 18-1518, in Pacer). DRI said the 4th Circuit at minimum should say class-action judgments can't require defendants to provide relief to uninjured members. It said federal appellate courts are split over the interplay between Article III standing requirements and unnamed class members, and that the 4th Circuit hasn't taken a position. Dish in its appeal is seeking a decertification of the class or for the $60 million judgment to be reversed or vacated (see 1810050002). Appellee counsel didn't comment Thursday.

A 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel won't rehear Digital Satellite Connections' appeal of a lower court summary judgment in a trademark and breach of contract fight between DSC and Dish Network, said a docket 17-1110 order (in Pacer) Tuesday. The 10th Circuit in August upheld a lower court's summary judgment award to Dish Network on that company's breach-of-contract counterclaim. DSC sued, and Dish countersued, over use of the name "Dishnet" (see 1801080004).

Boeing invested in Accion Systems, it said Wednesday, to help the satellite electric propulsion startup expand manufacturing.

Ligado's proposed broadband terrestrial low-power service operating parameters are the type of interference that global navigation satellite system receivers "can be immune to by design," GNSS receiver maker Septentrio said in an FCC docket 11-109 posting Tuesday. It said its receivers are made to handle terrestrial adjacent band emission noise, and the GNSS industry is increasingly focused on developing receivers to handle such interference. In a statement, Ligado said GPS-enabled smartphones show LTE and GPS can coexist and the filing as well as Septentrio's own products demonstrate "that the public clearly benefits when they do coexist because our country is armed with better, more resilient GPS that protects us from threats such as spoofing and jamming."

Dish Network can't be blamed for the actions of "a rogue contractor," but the lower court was more interested in punishing Dish than in correctly defining the class of class-action plaintiffs who received telemarketing calls, the company said in a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opening brief (in Pacer, docket 18-1518) Thursday. Dish also said plaintiffs Thomas Krakauer and others should sue the party that made the calls, Dish contractor Satellite Systems Network, for the alleged Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations. Dish is seeking a decertification of the class and reversal or vacation of the $60 million judgment. Krakauer counsel didn't comment Friday. Dish and the plaintiffs repeatedly clashed over class membership issues before the U.S. District Court in Greensboro, North Carolina (see 1801040009).