Launch of Inmarsat 4 F2 is imminent -- and with it, Inmarsat’s new mobile satellite broadband services over the Americas, to go commercial in 2006. The craft floats in the Pacific on a launch pad near the equator, with Sea Launch’s official clock ticking down to a Nov. 5 liftoff. But in Washington, competitor Mobile Satellite Ventures has asked the FCC to delay Inmarsat’s eventual service rollout until coordination in the L-band and general national security concerns are addressed.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- NTIA will oversee testing this month that will help bring online 255 more MHz of spectrum in the 5.470-5.725 GHz band for unlicensed use via dynamic frequency selection (DFS), NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher told the Defense Spectrum Summit, which started here Mon.
A 2nd generation IC decoder for MPEG-4’s AVC and VC-1 codecs is being offered by STMicroelectronics, the company said Mon. The STB7109 chip also includes an interface for high-speed Ethernet connections, so set-top boxes can distribute content on home networks, using the greater compression ratios of AVC and VC-1 for more efficient distribution than is possible with MPEG-2 material, STM said. All 3 codecs are mandatory in next-generation HD DVD and Blu-ray disc systems. The chip’s security technology supports Windows Media DRM 10 and the Secure Video Processor standards that allow digital rights to be passed between consumer devices. Secure connectivity is provided through the HDMI link with HDCP required to connect HD sources to HD displays. Samples are available now, and the chip will cost $26 on volume orders when it ships early next year.
Digital TV-equipped cellphones will enter the U.S. market by 2007, Texas Instruments CEO Richard Templeton told analysts. TI’s DSP chip, code named Hollywood, will be available in phones in Europe and Japan in 2006, with “our best estimate for the U.S. being the following year, Templeton said. TI is among the world’s largest suppliers of DSP chips for cellphones.
Dennis Swanson, ex-Viacom, moves to Fox TV Stations Group as pres., Oct. 10…Stanley Shuman resigns from News Corp. board, remains emeritus… Promotions in ESPN restructuring: John Skipper to exec. vp-content; Chuck Pagano to exec. vp-technology; Sean Bratches to exec. vp- sales & mktg.; Norby Williamson to exec. vp- studio & remote production; John Wildhack to senior vp- programming, acquisitions & strategy; David Berson to senior vp-program planning & development; Paul Cushing to senior vp-information technology; Aaron Laberge to vp- technology; Ben Pyne to pres.-Disney & ESPN Networks affiliate sales & mktg… ECI Telecom promotes Rafi Maor to pres.-CEO, replacing Doron Inbar, moving to chmn. of strategy committee… New at NCTA: Michael Turk, ex- Republican National Committee, as vp-grassroots; Rick Cimerman promoted to vp-state govt. affairs; Lisa Schoenthaler promoted to vp-assn. affairs… Corning promotes Katherine Asbeck to senior vp-finance; Jane Poulin, ex-SEC, becomes vp-chief accounting officer; Tony Tripeny promoted to vp-controller… Verizon N.J. Vp- External Affairs Peter Ventimiglia retires in Jan… Powerline communications chip maker DS2 names Jose Calero, ex-IngeniaSystem, CTO.
TracFone Wireless outlined “suggestions” on how it could comply with the conditions in an FCC order granting the carrier’s petition for Lifeline support. The FCC last month decided to forebear enforcing a rule barring firms that don’t own facilities from participating in the Lifeline program, in response to a TracFone petition -- but imposed E-911 conditions and required the company to submit a plan for implementing those conditions (CD Sept 7 p2). “Strict compliance with a requirement to get PSAP certification [regarding] 911/E-911 compliance for every market where TracFone would offer Lifeline service would be cost prohibitive, duplicative and unnecessary,” TracFone said. It said where it offers service through a carrier using a network-based solution for E-911, such as Cingular or T-Mobile, TracFone would confirm that the carrier has a PSAP certification and ensure that all Lifeline customers in that market are served over that carrier’s network. Where the underlying carrier uses a handset-based solution, such as Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular and Alltel, TracFone said it would: (1) Provide the FCC a certification from a phone manufacturer that the handset used to provide Lifeline service has a GPS chip and is E-911 compliant. (2) Make sure all Lifeline customers in such markets get E-911 compliant handsets. (3) Confirm that the underlying carrier has on file with the FCC a current quarterly 911/E-911 compliance report for the PSAP. TracFone also proposed it be allowed to offer Lifeline service in areas where 911 is available, even if E-911 isn’t. It said it’s better if Lifeline customers can call 911 during an emergency and state their locations than if they don’t have phones. TracFone stressed that the suggestions outlined “should not be viewed as TracFone’s proposals for complying with the conditions set forth in the September 8 order.” It said it will submit a detailed compliance plan by Oct. 11.
ATSC veterans LG and Thomson were tapped Wed. to develop prototype set-top converters for terrestrial DTV reception on legacy analog TVs. In announcing selection of the respective Zenith and RCA parents, the MSTV and NAB cited the CE firms’ role in developing the ATSC standard and their experience in building low-cost set tops. The LG/Thomson prototypes will be reference designs for other makers, to ensure the 70 million analog TVs in 21 million residences relying on terrestrial broadcast “will continue to receive free over-the-air TV service when all-digital broadcasting begins,” MSTV and NAB said. Selection of LG and Thomson came after evaluation of more than a dozen proposals by CE and chip makers worldwide in response to a June 20 quotation request by MSTV and NAB, the groups said. The effort, jointly funded by MSTV and NAB with assistance from LG and Thomson, “comports with Congressional efforts to subsidize quality converter boxes that provide an alternative for consumers that want to keep their current analog equipment,” MSTV Pres. David Donovan said. Neither a schedule for prototype delivery nor a per-unit was announced, but $50 is an attainable target, industry consensus maintains.
STANFORD, Cal. -- Silicon Valley heavyweights advised some Cal. House Democrats how to spread U.S. broadband, in the first of a series “Innovation Roundtables” around the country including Minority Leader Pelosi (Cal.). Details were sketchy in a news conference after the nearly 3-hour, closed meeting Mon. at Stanford U. involving about 20 senior corporate executives, financiers, industry association leaders and university managers, and Pelosi and 3 colleagues from the San Francisco area, Reps. Eshoo, Lofgren and Miller, who’s policy chmn. of the House Democratic Caucus. “This was an A-list of Silicon Valley,” Lofgren said.
Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) giants PanAmSat, SES Global and Intelsat sang HD’s praises in last week’s mid- year financial reports. The chorus hailed rising demand for transponder space among pay-TV providers, especially DBS. Demand for HD, they said, is driving demand for satellite capacity and buoying lease prices, which they expect will rise as cable and DBS platforms carry more HD channels.
The High Tech Broadband Coalition (HTBC) weighed in on the FCC’s wireline broadband proceeding Tues., urging the FCC to: (1) Classify wireline Internet access as an information service. (2) Endorse “broadband connectivity principles” to protect consumers. The FCC on Tues. was still trying to gain consensus on the item in order to complete action this week, possibly putting the item on the agenda at the Thurs. open meeting. The coalition, made up of high-tech associations, took a similar position when the wireline proceeding first was proposed 2 years ago. However, at that time, HTBC also proposed phasing in the new classification over a 2-year transition period, which wasn’t included in this year’s letter. HTBC said it has long advocated classifying broadband services as information services under Title I of the Communications Act. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld such classification for cable modem services, it makes sense for the Commission “to take the logical next step” and apply the same classification to DSL and other wireline broadband services, the HTBC letter said. The letter said the connectivity principles should include: (1) Consumers should receiving “meaningful” information about their broadband service plans. (2) They should have “access to their choice of legal Internet content” within bandwidth and service quality limits of their provider. (3) Consumers should be able to “run applications of their choice… as long as they do not harm the provider’s networks.” (4) Consumers should be able to “attach any devices they choose” if they don’t hurt the provider’s network or “enable theft of services.” As it has in the past, HTBC said it doesn’t think the FCC needs to take the next step and adopt regulations based on these principles unless there is evidence of widespread abuse. HTBC also urged the Commission to “clearly assert” that it has authority under Title I to address such abuse if necessary. HTBC’s members are the CEA, Information Technology Industry Council, Telecom Industry Assn., National Assn. of Mfrs., Semiconductor Industry Assn., Business Software Alliance.