DirecTV sued Dish Network for false advertising, claiming that a recent ad campaign misrepresents what are comparable packages between the two companies, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. DirecTV is asking the court to force Dish to pay DirecTV all profits related to the advertising, financial damages sustained by DirecTV as a result of the advertising, exemplary damages and attorneys’ fees. The company said Dish’s advertising violates the Lanham Act, New York General Business Law and common law of unfair competition.
DirecTV sued Dish Network for false advertising, claiming that a recent ad campaign misrepresents what are comparable packages between the two companies, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. DirecTV is asking the court to force Dish to pay DirecTV all profits related to the advertising, financial damages sustained by DirecTV as a result of the advertising, exemplary damages and attorneys’ fees. The company said Dish’s advertising violates the Lanham Act, New York General Business Law and common law of unfair competition.
Intelsat continues to work to restore service to customers using capacity on its IS-4 satellite, following a problem with its backup satellite central processing unit (CD Feb 3 p12), a company spokeswoman said. Service to some customers has been restored, she said. The satellite, which hosts a mix of network services and media customers over 16 Ku-band transponders, shut down its communications payload to save battery power, she said. Intelsat was planning to take the satellite out of service later this year. As is often the case with satellites nearing their end of life, IS-4 isn’t covered by insurance.
The FCC probably will loosen band rules for wireless communications service to accommodate mobile broadband services, executives said. So Sirius XM has stepped up efforts to persuade the FCC not to allow WCS band licensees’ operations to interfere with the Sirius XM service. The company Thursday discussed the technical limits it recommends for a WCS band adjustment with the Office of Engineering and Technology and the Wireless Bureau, according to an ex parte filing. It met with International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre and aides Jan. 14 (CD Jan 20 p 14) and outlined its technical recommendations in a filing with the OET earlier this month (CD Jan 6 p 6).
Light satellite broadband competition, underperforming suburban terrestrial connectivity and a lack of rural terrestrial networks will help propel Avanti Communications as a satellite broadband provider in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, CEO David Williams said in an interview. Investors and the U.S. and French governments recently provided financing for the company’s second satellite (CD Dec 22 p10).
A federal court issued a $51 million judgment against Robert Ward for supplying software files allowing nonsubscribers to receive Dish Network programming, the company said Monday. A U.S. district judge in Tampa said Ward violated the federal Communications Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Dish accused him of uploading software and keys to its security system, which can be loaded onto the circuit chips of free-to-air receivers, mimicking Dish access cards and allowing users to watch the programming without paying. The court said Ward provided 255,471 software piracy files. There’s a minimum statutory penalty of $200 per download.
A federal court issued a $51 million judgment against Robert Ward for supplying software files allowing nonsubscribers to receive Dish Network programming, the company said Monday.
The National Governors Association (NGA) the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), the Multistate Tax Commission and more than a dozen states threw their weight behind a satellite TV sales tax Monday that’s before the Ohio Supreme Court. The fight is over an Ohio tax requiring satellite subscribers to pay a tax equal to 5.5 percent of their service revenue, while cable customers pay nothing. The cable companies and state organizations say the tax is a near equivalent of the franchise fees required of cable providers. Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable also filed a brief with the court supporting the tax. Oral argument hasn’t been scheduled.
As the FCC assesses spectrum issues, mobile satellite services (MSS) providers using the 2 GHz band have faced attack from wireless companies that say development in the band has been too slow. MSS providers say they've felt more pressure from their wireless competitors than from the commission, and there’s no formal review of their use of the spectrum.
Global connectivity will be an economic motor and should be a major goal of the National Broadband plan, Diane Cornell, Inmarsat’s vice president of government affairs, said at an FCC workshop Thursday on using broadband to connect the U.S. with the rest of the world. Satellite technology can already provide the connections with a single interface, allowing users everywhere in the world the same experience. True global connectivity is impeded by spectrum coordination from country to country, a time-consuming and expensive process, she said. Steady regulatory environments around the world can promote the use of satellite technology for many applications, she said.