LTE-U's backers and critics agree the technology shows immense promise. Beyond that, consensus starts to break down on how to best implement it so as not to cause interference with Wi-Fi, according to panelists at a Monday night FCBA seminar on Wi-Fi-LTE-U. "These unlicensed bands are great [and] there's promise we can still avoid the rocks," said panelist Paul Margie of Harris Wiltshire, whose clients include wireless companies and ISPs.
LTE-U's backers and critics agree the technology shows immense promise. Beyond that, consensus starts to break down on how to best implement it so as not to cause interference with Wi-Fi, according to panelists at a Monday night FCBA seminar on Wi-Fi-LTE-U. "These unlicensed bands are great [and] there's promise we can still avoid the rocks," said panelist Paul Margie of Harris Wiltshire, whose clients include wireless companies and ISPs.
LTE-U's backers and critics agree the technology shows immense promise. Beyond that, consensus starts to break down on how to best implement it so as not to cause interference with Wi-Fi, according to panelists at a Monday night FCBA seminar on Wi-Fi-LTE-U. "These unlicensed bands are great [and] there's promise we can still avoid the rocks," said panelist Paul Margie of Harris Wiltshire, whose clients include wireless companies and ISPs.
The fate of a DirecTV legal fight with former customers likely will rest on the issue of how involved the Supreme Court believes the federal government should be in contractual disputes, based on the item the justices kept returning to during oral argument Tuesday in DirecTV v. Amy Imburgia. "It generally is a matter of state law," Justice Samuel Alito said, challenging Christopher Landau of Kirkland & Ellis, representing DirecTV, to define the border where the federal government should and should not involve itself in such contractual disputes.
The Supreme Court case pitting DirecTV against ex-customers over its arbitration policy points up what critics contend are problems with forced arbitration, while backers say it's a cost-effective way of settling disputes over small sums. During oral argument Tuesday, at issue will be language in customers' contracts requiring arbitration for disputes unless applicable state law forbids it, and whether the arbitration agreement is unenforceable. That is according to briefs in the case and comments from participants.
The Supreme Court case pitting DirecTV against ex-customers over its arbitration policy points up what critics contend are problems with forced arbitration, while backers say it's a cost-effective way of settling disputes over small sums. During oral argument Tuesday, at issue will be language in customers' contracts requiring arbitration for disputes unless applicable state law forbids it, and whether the arbitration agreement is unenforceable. That is according to briefs in the case and comments from participants.
The FCC is considering a revamp of broadcast foreign ownership rules to bring them in line with the same review processes governing foreign ownership of common carriers and aeronautical licensees in what Chairman Tom Wheeler said was regulatory simplification. The broadcast ownership NPRM -- docket 15-235 -- is part of the agency's tentative agenda released Thursday for its Oct. 22 meeting.
Don't expect to see many mergers or acquisitions in the satellite industry despite the benefits of such consolidation, Intelsat Chief Financial Officer Michael McDonnell said Tuesday at a Deutsche Bank's investor conference. The few such M&A transactions in the industry -- such as Eutelsat's 2014 takeover of SatMex -- sometimes come with high price tags, and many smaller operators' governments aren't as interested in consolidation as their owners, McDonnell said. He declined to address directly what he called rumors of Intelsat considering a sale of some assets, except to say its satellite fleet is designed so most of them carry a variety of customer sets and they are supported by a common platform. "We don't really have any assets we consider to be non-core," McDonnell said. While the company's network services revenue has been declining in recent years, its high-throughput Epic satellite platform going online next year opens the door to expansion into markets such as connected cars and IoT and "is our path back to growth," McDonnell said. The company has four launches planned for 2016 -- Intelsat 31 and 29e in Q1 and 33e and 36 in the second half of the year -- and most of its satellites planned in coming years are Epics, he said.
Don't expect to see many mergers or acquisitions in the satellite industry despite the benefits of such consolidation, Intelsat Chief Financial Officer Michael McDonnell said Tuesday at a Deutsche Bank's investor conference. The few such M&A transactions in the industry -- such as Eutelsat's 2014 takeover of SatMex -- sometimes come with high price tags, and many smaller operators' governments aren't as interested in consolidation as their owners, McDonnell said. He declined to address directly what he called rumors of Intelsat considering a sale of some assets, except to say its satellite fleet is designed so most of them carry a variety of customer sets and they are supported by a common platform. "We don't really have any assets we consider to be non-core," McDonnell said. While the company's network services revenue has been declining in recent years, its high-throughput Epic satellite platform going online next year opens the door to expansion into markets such as connected cars and IoT and "is our path back to growth," McDonnell said. The company has four launches planned for 2016 -- Intelsat 31 and 29e in Q1 and 33e and 36 in the second half of the year -- and most of its satellites planned in coming years are Epics, he said.
Don't expect to see many mergers or acquisitions in the satellite industry despite the benefits of such consolidation, Intelsat Chief Financial Officer Michael McDonnell said Tuesday at a Deutsche Bank's investor conference. The few such M&A transactions in the industry -- such as Eutelsat's 2014 takeover of SatMex -- sometimes come with high price tags, and many smaller operators' governments aren't as interested in consolidation as their owners, McDonnell said. He declined to address directly what he called rumors of Intelsat considering a sale of some assets, except to say its satellite fleet is designed so most of them carry a variety of customer sets and they are supported by a common platform. "We don't really have any assets we consider to be non-core," McDonnell said. While the company's network services revenue has been declining in recent years, its high-throughput Epic satellite platform going online next year opens the door to expansion into markets such as connected cars and IoT and "is our path back to growth," McDonnell said. The company has four launches planned for 2016 -- Intelsat 31 and 29e in Q1 and 33e and 36 in the second half of the year -- and most of its satellites planned in coming years are Epics, he said.