Intelsat requested a 30-day extension of a special temporary authority to drift Intelsat 5 from 50.15 degrees east to 157 degrees east. It requested the extension from Sept. 29 to Oct. 28, said its application to the FCC International Bureau (http://bit.ly/ZYG6tA). SES requested separate 30-day STAs use the E120055 and E090060 earth stations to de-orbit the NSS-703 satellite (http://bit.ly/Ylazke; http://bit.ly/YlaH3a).
The FCC International Bureau dismissed an application from Skynet Satellite for authority to launch and operate a satellite at 15 degrees west. The application concerning the Telstar 12 Vantage satellite is defective, the bureau’s Satellite Division said Thursday in a letter (http://bit.ly/ZSGQ3j). Skynet’s application doesn’t specify the telemetry, tracking and command frequencies, and their associated polarization data, it said. The division asked Skynet for additional information on the volume of its pressurant tanks.
Arianespace will launch the Al Yah 3 satellite for Abu Dhabi-based Yahsat. The launch is planned for 2016, using an Ariane 5 rocket, Arianespace said Tuesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1qCkywA). Orbital Sciences is building the satellite, which will provide broadband services to nearly 600 million users in Brazil and Africa, it said.
Lockheed Martin upgraded the capability of the A2100 family of satellites. Two A2100 satellites can now be launched to orbit aboard a single rocket “using a unique side-by-side dual configuration that cuts launch costs without sacrificing payload capability,” it said Monday in a news release (http://lmt.co/ZeLpVm). Customers will be able to modify the A2100’s mission payload over its lifetime due to a new processor that can be reprogrammed in orbit, it said. The satellites will have equal configuration flexibility “while reducing overall launch mass and cost,” it said.
SES will add a new satellite as part of its strategic partnership with EchoStar. SES-11, also known as EchoStar 105, will be placed into the 105 degrees west orbital position, SES said Thursday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1rOq9Cz). Airbus will manufacture the satellite, which will use the Eurostar E3000 platform, SES said. It will carry 24 Ku-band transponders and 24 C-band transponders, SES said. The launch is planned for 2016, it said.
INet selected Newtec’s satellite broadband technology to provide high-speed broadband service for Guyana. The technology will help connect remote Amerindian communities, mining communities, schools and military bases, the companies said Tuesday in a news release. The service enables download speeds of 10 Mbps using the IP Easy service operated through the Eutelsat 8 West A satellite, the release said.
Fletcher Heald will hold a webinar on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. EDT, on the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Aereo decision (CD June 26 p1) the law firm said in a blog post Friday (http://bit.ly/1n4wkew).
Communications Daily won’t be published Monday, Sept. 1 because of the federal Labor Day holiday. Our next issue will be dated Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Pandora launched its Google Glass app, said a Pandora blog post Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1mSCPkq). The app, which was developed by Pandora this spring during one of its semiannual “Hack-a-thons,” allows Google Glass users to access personalized radio stations, it said.
The FCC should be as transparent with broadcasters as possible as it conducts the incentive auction, said the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition. It met with FCC officials including Incentive Auction Task Force Chairman Gary Epstein, Vice Chairman Howard Symons and Wireline and Wireless bureau staff last week, said an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1t2XcB4) posted in docket 12-268 Friday. “Providing broadcast station participants with complete visibility into actions in both the forward and reverse auctions will inform bidding decisions and strengthen broadcaster confidence in the integrity of the auctions,” said EOBC. The FCC could increase transparency by publicly releasing opening offers at the start of the auction, and after each reverse auction round disclose without identifying participants information about prices, offers, the amount of available spectrum, and reserve prices, it said. In the forward auction, the FCC should release detailed information about bids placed for each partial economic area, said EOBC.