Updated wireless emergency alert/emergency alert service rules approved 4-0 by FCC commissioners Thursday (see 2106170063) explain more fully than the draft order why the commission declined to take up a New York City Emergency Management request, per our comparison of the draft with the approved order. NYCEM asked the FCC to require government entities that originate WEAs to file mandatory false alert reports as part of a pact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The commission said now that while the update sets up a voluntary system for reporting false alerts, doing so seems consistent with requirements in last year's National Defense Authorization Act, so the agency declined to take up NYCEM's request.
The booming proliferation of low earth orbit satellites, a growing challenge for optical astronomers (see 1906100015), is raising red flags for radio astronomers. Many see no easy technical or regulatory fixes.
Viasat's request that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stay the FCC's OK of SpaceX's license modification pending judicial review (see 2105240005) saw both an ally and opposition in docket 21-1123 (in Pacer) responses Monday. The FCC put too high an evidentiary burden on the Balance Group and Viasat in their written objections to the proposed license modification, and the appellate court is likely to reverse the agency not finding that SpaceX's application may have a big environmental impact, Balance said in support of the Viasat stay. The FCC said it "closely examined and reasonably rejected Viasat’s claims," and Viasat hasn't made a case for "the extraordinary remedy of a stay pending appeal." The agency said it considered the allegations of environmental impact and didn't find sufficient evidence that the license mod needs further environmental review. The license mod fell into a categorical exclusion under FCC National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules, it said. SpaceX, also opposing the stay, said the stay motion is a "transparent bid to co-opt [NEPA] and the procedure for extraordinary stay relief as weapons of commercial warfare." It said the D.C. Circuit isn't likely to overturn FCC "methodical, issue-by-issue treatment of Viasat’s unprecedented and thinly-supported NEPA arguments" while Viasat hasn't shown "anything approaching irreparable harm" if not granted a stay.
Emergency management agencies are backing FCC-proposed changes to emergency alerts. And we're told next week's vote on the draft order and Further NPRM (see 2105260076) should be noncontroversial.
AT&T in hindsight likely wouldn't have bought DirecTV because pay-TV universe subscriber losses were steeper than expected when the carrier started pursuing the deal, CEO John Stankey said Thursday during an Economic Club talk. He said DirecTV didn't generate the value long term that was expected. He said it's "entirely possible" the spinoff of the company's video business (see our report here]) could recapture some lost value, and said the WarnerMedia/Discovery spinoff and combination (see 2105160003) should generate big returns for shareholders, including him. "I intend to leave all my equity in that new business," Stankey said. While the deal goes through regulatory review, WarnerMedia is "full steam ahead" with initiatives such as launch of an ad-supported HBO Max tier this month and work on a CNN streaming product, Stankey said. The $65 billion for broadband the administration and Senate Republicans agreed on (see 2105270072) before talks collapsed potentially "knocks ... out" the rural digital divide problem, though that access likely will use a mix of technologies including wireless and satellite, along with fiber, and won't be as robust as will be found in less-rural areas, Stankey said. Left unaddressed is the affordability issue, which will require about $4 billion annually in subsidies, he said. That money could come from congressional appropriations or from excise or use taxes, he said. Asked about AT&T's $23 billion in 2021 C-band payments, he said it "will not be the last investment we make in spectrum" to meet increasing wireless data demands. Stankey said occupancy at AT&T's Dallas headquarters was about 20% a month ago, and is growing. He said the company will be in its "new hybrid mode" by summer's end, with all employees in one of three categories: in the office a couple of days a month, in the office a couple of days a week, and daily. He said a high percentage of AT&T workers would be hybrid: So far, the company is urging but not requiring worker vaccinations.
AT&T in hindsight likely wouldn't have bought DirecTV because pay-TV universe subscriber losses were steeper than expected when the carrier started pursuing the deal, CEO John Stankey said Thursday during an Economic Club talk. He said DirecTV didn't generate the value long term that was expected. He said it's "entirely possible" the spinoff of the company's video business (see our report here]) could recapture some lost value, and said the WarnerMedia/Discovery spinoff and combination (see 2105160003) should generate big returns for shareholders, including him. "I intend to leave all my equity in that new business," Stankey said. While the deal goes through regulatory review, WarnerMedia is "full steam ahead" with initiatives such as launch of an ad-supported HBO Max tier this month and work on a CNN streaming product, Stankey said. The $65 billion for broadband the administration and Senate Republicans agreed on (see 2105270072) before talks collapsed potentially "knocks ... out" the rural digital divide problem, though that access likely will use a mix of technologies including wireless and satellite, along with fiber, and won't be as robust as will be found in less-rural areas, Stankey said. Left unaddressed is the affordability issue, which will require about $4 billion annually in subsidies, he said. That money could come from congressional appropriations or from excise or use taxes, he said. Asked about AT&T's $23 billion in 2021 C-band payments, he said it "will not be the last investment we make in spectrum" to meet increasing wireless data demands. Stankey said occupancy at AT&T's Dallas headquarters was about 20% a month ago, and is growing. He said the company will be in its "new hybrid mode" by summer's end, with all employees in one of three categories: in the office a couple of days a month, in the office a couple of days a week, and daily. He said a high percentage of AT&T workers would be hybrid: So far, the company is urging but not requiring worker vaccinations.
AT&T in hindsight likely wouldn't have bought DirecTV because pay-TV universe subscriber losses were steeper than expected when the carrier started pursuing the deal, CEO John Stankey said Thursday during an Economic Club talk. He said DirecTV didn't generate the value long term that was expected. He said it's "entirely possible" the spinoff of the company's video business (see our report here]) could recapture some lost value, and said the WarnerMedia/Discovery spinoff and combination (see 2105160003) should generate big returns for shareholders, including him. "I intend to leave all my equity in that new business," Stankey said. While the deal goes through regulatory review, WarnerMedia is "full steam ahead" with initiatives such as launch of an ad-supported HBO Max tier this month and work on a CNN streaming product, Stankey said. The $65 billion for broadband the administration and Senate Republicans agreed on (see 2105270072) before talks collapsed potentially "knocks ... out" the rural digital divide problem, though that access likely will use a mix of technologies including wireless and satellite, along with fiber, and won't be as robust as will be found in less-rural areas, Stankey said. Left unaddressed is the affordability issue, which will require about $4 billion annually in subsidies, he said. That money could come from congressional appropriations or from excise or use taxes, he said. Asked about AT&T's $23 billion in 2021 C-band payments, he said it "will not be the last investment we make in spectrum" to meet increasing wireless data demands. Stankey said occupancy at AT&T's Dallas headquarters was about 20% a month ago, and is growing. He said the company will be in its "new hybrid mode" by summer's end, with all employees in one of three categories: in the office a couple of days a month, in the office a couple of days a week, and daily. He said a high percentage of AT&T workers would be hybrid: So far, the company is urging but not requiring worker vaccinations.
Airline broadband connectivity via geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite is on its way out, with low earth orbit (LEO) constellations likely to claim most if not all that market by decade's end, satellite executives said Wednesday during the annual Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit. OneWeb Vice President-Mobility Ben Griffin said many airlines he has spoken with in the past year are "positively anxious" about LEO and its promised capacity, coverage and low latency benefits over GSO. Vice President-Starlink and Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller said SpaceX similarly is in talks with several airlines and has its own aviation service in development. He said the company has done some demos and plans to get it finalized for aircraft deployment "in the very near future." Griffin said aviation is "a fairly risk-averse" industry and won't adopt LEO connectivity quickly, as it waits instead to see that networks and constellations are established with a level of credibility. He said LEO connectivity deals likely will start ramping up in the back half of the decade. Hofeller said by the end of the decade, a good number of GSO satellites in orbit will be decommissioned and it's unclear if all will be replaced. He said within 10 years, LEO will be the norm for inflight connectivity. Hofeller said SpaceX has spent considerable time trying to estimate what bandwidth will be needed to serve a particular flight. He said one challenge is that usage will change over time, since usage now on airlines reflects the relatively meager service that's available. Telesat Director-Commercial and Product Development Manik Vinnakota said flights get perhaps 10 to 30 Mbps downlink service, while 50-100 Mbps could easily be needed, and perhaps more for widebody jets. He said links to aircraft also will get more symmetrical as people increasingly send as well as download files. Uplinks of 30-40 Mbps might be needed, he said.
Airline broadband connectivity via geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite is on its way out, with low earth orbit (LEO) constellations likely to claim most if not all that market by decade's end, satellite executives said Wednesday during the annual Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit. OneWeb Vice President-Mobility Ben Griffin said many airlines he has spoken with in the past year are "positively anxious" about LEO and its promised capacity, coverage and low latency benefits over GSO. Vice President-Starlink and Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller said SpaceX similarly is in talks with several airlines and has its own aviation service in development. He said the company has done some demos and plans to get it finalized for aircraft deployment "in the very near future." Griffin said aviation is "a fairly risk-averse" industry and won't adopt LEO connectivity quickly, as it waits instead to see that networks and constellations are established with a level of credibility. He said LEO connectivity deals likely will start ramping up in the back half of the decade. Hofeller said by the end of the decade, a good number of GSO satellites in orbit will be decommissioned and it's unclear if all will be replaced. He said within 10 years, LEO will be the norm for inflight connectivity. Hofeller said SpaceX has spent considerable time trying to estimate what bandwidth will be needed to serve a particular flight. He said one challenge is that usage will change over time, since usage now on airlines reflects the relatively meager service that's available. Telesat Director-Commercial and Product Development Manik Vinnakota said flights get perhaps 10 to 30 Mbps downlink service, while 50-100 Mbps could easily be needed, and perhaps more for widebody jets. He said links to aircraft also will get more symmetrical as people increasingly send as well as download files. Uplinks of 30-40 Mbps might be needed, he said.
Airline broadband connectivity via geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite is on its way out, with low earth orbit (LEO) constellations likely to claim most if not all that market by decade's end, satellite executives said Wednesday during the annual Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit. OneWeb Vice President-Mobility Ben Griffin said many airlines he has spoken with in the past year are "positively anxious" about LEO and its promised capacity, coverage and low latency benefits over GSO. Vice President-Starlink and Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller said SpaceX similarly is in talks with several airlines and has its own aviation service in development. He said the company has done some demos and plans to get it finalized for aircraft deployment "in the very near future." Griffin said aviation is "a fairly risk-averse" industry and won't adopt LEO connectivity quickly, as it waits instead to see that networks and constellations are established with a level of credibility. He said LEO connectivity deals likely will start ramping up in the back half of the decade. Hofeller said by the end of the decade, a good number of GSO satellites in orbit will be decommissioned and it's unclear if all will be replaced. He said within 10 years, LEO will be the norm for inflight connectivity. Hofeller said SpaceX has spent considerable time trying to estimate what bandwidth will be needed to serve a particular flight. He said one challenge is that usage will change over time, since usage now on airlines reflects the relatively meager service that's available. Telesat Director-Commercial and Product Development Manik Vinnakota said flights get perhaps 10 to 30 Mbps downlink service, while 50-100 Mbps could easily be needed, and perhaps more for widebody jets. He said links to aircraft also will get more symmetrical as people increasingly send as well as download files. Uplinks of 30-40 Mbps might be needed, he said.