LightSquared paid Inmarsat $337.5 million to begin the process of consolidating terrestrial L-band spectrum that LightSquared plans to use for its 4G network, the companies said Wednesday. The process for opening up the spectrum for use by LightSquared has been in place since 2007, when the company was known as SkyTerra. LightSquared has paid an initial $81.25 million to Inmarsat.
Google will work as the sales representative for several channels offered by DirecTV, the companies said Wednesday. The partnership is a step forward for Google’s effort to gain recognition as an ad seller in traditional media in preparation for a possible flattening out of Internet ad sales, media industry analysts said.
Google will work as the sales representative for several channels offered by DirecTV, the companies said Wednesday. The partnership is a step forward for Google’s effort to gain recognition as an ad seller in traditional media in preparation for a possible flattening out of Internet ad sales, media industry analysts said.
Google will work as the sales representative for several channels offered by DirecTV, the companies said Wednesday. The partnership is a step forward for Google’s effort to gain recognition as an ad seller in traditional media in preparation for a possible flattening out of Internet ad sales, media industry analysts said.
TerreStar is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company said in its Q2 10-Q filing with the SEC. The firm has struggled to find financial stability in recent years despite a launched satellite and large investments from major companies such as Harbinger Capital Partners and EchoStar. Continued operations, including the release of a new phone with AT&T scheduled for September, may depend on support from those companies, said satellite industry executives. How the filing may affect possible incentive auctions for the 2 GHz band is unclear, because the FCC just opened its proceeding on how best to encourage mobile broadband investment in the MSS bands (CD July 16 p1), said executives.
EchoStar is combining Slingbox with third-party software as it seeks to expand the technology beyond its set-top boxes, company executives said Monday on an earnings call. Since unveiling Slingbox technology under the “TV Everywhere” banner at CES in January, EchoStar has sought to jump-start its Sling Media division that has struggled to gain design wins outside of its own products and Dish Network. EchoStar bought Sling in 2007 for $380 million.
Inmarsat will buy three Ka-band satellites from Boeing as part of a $1.2 billion investment to develop a global network in the band, the companies said Friday. The new satellites are a major change from Inmarsat’s legacy as an L-band provider and is seen as an effort to take back mobile satellite market share lost in recent years to fixed satellite services operators in the Ku-band, such as Intelsat and SES, said industry executives. The FCC and other countries’ regulators are expected to take on new proceedings to define rules for mobile satellite services in the band, which is largely used by fixed satellite services, said an executive.
Universal Service Fund revamp legislation recently introduced by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. (CD July 23 p1) doesn’t offer much for satellite broadband providers, said industry executives. The legislation, which would create a fund to help extend Internet to the most rural regions, leaves out the technology that could expand broadband the furthest at the lowest cost, they contend.
The FCC International Bureau’s decision to decline EchoStar’s application for a new C-band satellite on the basis of a pattern of speculative applications (CD July 30 p9) was a surprisingly strict move by the bureau, said satellite industry executives. While the bureau’s decision limits the number of applications the company can file, it remains unclear how it will affect its bottom line, the company said. EchoStar will respond to the action within the next month, it said. It’s thought to be the first time the bureau had used the rule as the basis for declining an application, the executives said.
British Sky Broadcasting will begin to offer its first 3D channel, 3D Sky, in October, the company said Thursday. The channel won’t require a set-top box upgrade and will be free to BSkyB customers already subscribed to the company’s top HD and channels package, it said. The immediate financial effect on the U.K. direct broadcast satellite provider remains unclear, CEO Jeremy Darroch said on an earnings teleconference.