PGA of America and SiriusXM announced a five-year rights extension to their broadcasting agreement and will launch a weekly talk show, PGA of America Radio, Aug. 8. SiriusXM will continue to deliver live audio broadcasts of PGA of America events, including the PGA Championship and the 2020 Ryder Cup, they said. The channel is available on SiriusXM radios, on smartphones and tablets via the SiriusXM mobile app and on streaming devices, they said.
Telesat signed an agreement with Thales Alenia Space and SSL parent Maxar Technologies for system design work for the satellite operator's planned low earth orbit communications constellation. Telesat said Monday that in coming months, the two companies will complete preliminary design and do technical reviews leading to a proposal for manufacture and launch of the satellites and deployment of the ground system infrastructure. It anticipates choosing a prime contractor by mid-2019.
Centrally locating data from Defense Department programs involving commercial satellite payloads also hosting military sensors or other equipment could help the agency better assess the data for better decision-making on future host satellite use, GAO said Monday. DOD has used three commercially hosted payloads since 2009, with three more planned or underway through 2022, GAO said. It recommended the defense secretary require that programs using hosted payloads provide cost, technical data and lessons learned to a central office, and that it consider whether the Hosted Payload Office is that proper centralized location.
Boeing dropped plans to hand off two non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellation applications pending before the FCC to SOM1101. An FCC staffer said there was skepticism at the International Bureau and it wouldn't be surprising if in conversations between the bureau and companies, it became apparent a grant of the applications would be tough. Boeing and SOM1101 filed an IB notice of withdrawal last week. The agency, Boeing and SOM1101 owner Greg Wyler didn't comment Tuesday. Other satellite operators opposed the handover ask, arguing Wyler had a controlling interest in OneWeb (see 1802130019). A satellite lawyer with a client interested in the proceeding said the two might have thrown in the towel when it looked like the ask wasn't going anywhere. The lawyer said the big question is what Boeing does with the pending NGSO applications. The lawyer said the satellite community's response to another Boeing request to transfer the applications to a different third party might depend on who it was and what issues that proposed recipient raises. But if Boeing does come in with another third party, it would look as if its original applications were speculation and the company is now shopping them around, and that's something the FCC doesn't want to encourage, the lawyer said. O3b argued the applications are speculation and should be denied (see 1807230005).
The blackout of Univision content on Dish Network and its Sling over-the-top product (see 1807030044) entered its second month Monday. Both sides indicated they are far apart on a new deal, as the direct broadcast satellite provider began offering some customers credits. Univision representatives "returned to their corporate offices last week at which time we offered several paths forward to show Dish how serious we are about resolving this dispute amicably," a spokesman for the broadcaster emailed us. "Dish responded with an offer that was essentially the same as the one they previously offered back in June. We remain open and willing to negotiate with Dish at any time and ready to return to their offices this week should they choose to be constructive." With "renewal talks in an apparent deadlock," Dish will issue $5 monthly credits for August customer bills to DishLatino and Sling Latino package subscribers, the DBS provider said earlier Monday. "We assume Univision's decision is permanent: Univision executives are seeking a massive rate increase despite reports showing the programmer lost more than 50 percent of its prime-time viewership in the last seven years," said Dish CEO Erik Carlson. "While we've been available, responsive and have made a best effort to negotiate, Univision appears to be forcing an impasse." The FCC still isn't commenting on the dispute.
Some space station operators with coordinated power levels above “'routine' limits'" need not coordinate any "properly notified power levels" under a two-degree spacing policy with applicants and petitioners for such U.S. market access who later filed complete requests, said a public notice in Friday's Daily Digest. It listed space stations including with AMC, Intelsat, SES and Sky in their names.
The Commerce Department's Office of Space Commerce needs more personnel and funding to take on commercial space regulatory overhaul, grow the export market and maintain U.S. leadership in space commerce, Aerospace Corp. said in an issue brief Monday. It said space traffic management likely will get significant attention due to its importance and urgency but said other challenges that need to be addressed include rules or standards for inter-orbital transportation, private-sector space stations and exploitation of extraterrestrial resources and locations.
With its two remote sensing satellites, SkySat-14 and SkySat-15, due to launch Sept. 30, Planet Labs wants approval for 180 days to use 8374.75 MHz and 8375.25 MHz for telemetry transmissions, it said in an FCC International Bureau special temporary authority application posted Wednesday. Without the approval, the two satellites -- to be released in a tight cluster -- would be indistinguishable from one another by earth stations for the first few days on orbit. It said within 60 days, the satellite orbits will have diverged enough that the two will be distinguishable and both will transmit from 8375 MHz.
The FCC partially rejected and partially granted a 2005 petition for reconsideration by satellite operators on the agency's emergency alert system report and order (see 0601040124). In an order in Wednesday's Daily Digest, commissioners rejected the ask by Intelsat, SES and the former PanAmSat, which was acquired by Intelsat, that EAS obligations for Ku-band fixed satellite service licensees move to the video programming distributors that lease transponder capacity from the licensees. It rejected an alternative ask that it not apply FSS EAS rules to FSS operations covered by lease agreements already in place when the EAS requirements took effect. It said over the past decade in which the rules have been in effect, it hasn't heard from FSS licensees about big problems with rules implementation. But the agency said it adopts more specific criteria for determining when EAS obligations are triggered for FSS licensees whose satellites provide programming aimed primarily at consumers outside the U.S. The FCC said another pending petition for partial reconsideration of the EAS order by the former XM Radio seeks reconsideration of unrelated issues and will be addressed separately.
The amended operational terms Ligado is pledging for its proposed ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) broadband network don't fully resolve the GPS interference issues they are supposed to, or address aviation safety and operational efficiency concerns, Aviation Spectrum Resources said in a docket 11-109 filing posted Wednesday. It said given the minimal progress over the years on resolving such issues, the FCC should deny the modification applications unless the issues are promptly addressed. It said Ligado's planned 500-foot diameter standoff cylinder around transmitters raises numerous operational issues that need answering before the agency should OK the applications. It said there need to be other terms in the modification applications dealing with site spacing and base station tower density, among other issues, to safeguard GPS receivers. Ligado in a statement said it's deferring to the FAA, and its amendment reflects that agency's analysis. Also in the docket Wednesday, autonomous nautical craft-maker Marine Advanced Research, which worked with Ligado on a technology demonstration, said the FCC should support Ligado's amended license modification applications. Ligado supporters and critics have been at odds over the ATC license modification application amendment (see 1807190002).