Public Knowledge's supportive comments on Globalstar's proposed broadband terrestrial low-power service (see 1511200036) is a reason that the FCC should OK the TLPS service, the company wrote the agency in a filing posted Wednesday to docket 13-213. "Since the Commission proposed rules in this proceeding two years ago, Globalstar has made it a priority to meet with interested parties to find common ground," including with what it called the public interest community. PK's latest filing "recognizes the substantial consumer benefits that will result from Globalstar’s planned TLPS operations on IEEE Channel 14," the company said. PK's filing said the group prefers that the agency let all unlicensed users on the channel, while taking swipes at Qualcomm on LTE-U standards from the company-backed LTE-U Forum. Qualcomm didn't comment Wednesday.

Spire Global seeks FCC International Bureau approval to launch as many as 900 cubesats over the next 15 years to create a low earth orbit constellation for maritime and meteorological monitoring and earth imaging services. In an application filed Monday, Spire said its nongeostationary orbit Lemur constellation would come in two phases, the first being the 29-cubesat Lemur-2 constellation using 2020-2025 MHz band for downlink and 402-403 MHz band for uplink, and the second being the 175-cubesat Lemur-3 constellation using 8025-8400 MHz for downlink and 2025-2110 MHz band for uplink. The orbital period for each of the satellites would be 90 to 97 minutes, depending on altitude of each orbital plane, it said. Along with approval to operate Lemur-2 and Lemur-3, Spire said it wants launch authority for the two phases, though no more than 175 satellites would be operational at any time and additional launches would be done only when constellations need replenishing. The satellite company estimates the longest expected nominal orbital life for the satellites would be about eight years. Lemur-2 satellites still are awaiting experimental authorizations, Spire said, though it has received National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration approval. The company said it plans to submit a subsequent application to NOAA for its second phase before those satellites' launch.

Synertone will use Gilat Satellite Networks baseband equipment for fixed and mobility applications on its high throughput satellite network that will offer coverage throughout China, Gilat said in a news release Monday. Synertone has placed a $12 million order with Gilat for its SkyEdge II-c platform with X-Architecture, Gilat said, saying the Synertone network is estimated to go live within six to 12 months.

SES had planned to “test broadcast” live in Ultra HD Saturday’s soccer match from Spain between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the satellite provider said in a Friday announcement. The transmission via SES’ Astra 1L satellite at 19.2 degrees East was to have been part of the Ultra HD technical tests SES is doing with Movistar+ and other industry partners, SES said. The live broadcast is "another milestone in the introduction of this new technology in Spain, as well as in Europe, and shows the readiness of the Ultra HD ecosystem,” SES said: “It is only a matter of time before the live broadcast of Ultra HD content becomes part of our daily TV viewing experience.”

Intelsat and Next Step signed a multiyear deal for the start of direct-to-home TV platform Freeview HD in Thailand using Ku-band capacity on Intelsat's Horizons 2 satellite, Intelsat said in a news release Friday. It said Horizons 2 relocated to 85 degrees east and its beam was repositioned to better serve Next Step and the Thai market.

Intersat and SES signed a multiyear contract to expand Intersat’s internet service offerings to eastern Africa, SES said in a news release Wednesday. ISP Intersat uses Ku-band capacity on SES' NSS-12 satellite to serve more than 200 very small aperture terminals, with that number more than doubling by 2016 under the deal, the companies said.

China Railway Rolling Stock will use Gilat Satellite Networks' satellite-based broadband for connectivity to its high-speed trains, the Israel-based Gilat said in a news release Thursday. Along with Internet access for passengers, the broadband connectivity will let China Railway monitor and perform maintenance services on its trains via satellite, Gilat said.

Cobham Satcom and ViaSat plan to jointly offer a push-to-talk (PTT) system for the mobile satellite services market, ViaSat said in a news release Thursday. The system will involve Explorer 122, a "ruggedized" vehicle-mounted IP satellite terminal, which will operate over ViaSat's L-band managed service network and goes with Cobham's Explorer PTT-II system. The joint ViaSat/Cobham PTT offering will use LightSquared's SkyTerra-1 satellite, ViaSat said.

Pointing to a test of its terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) at Washington School for Girls (WSG) in the District of Columbia, Globalstar said in an FCC ex parte filing posted Thursday that it "hopes to bring similar benefits to thousands of other students across the United States within the near future." Consultant AT4 Wireless set up TLPS-enabled access points at the school and integrated them into the school's wireless network this fall, Globalstar said. Before TLPS, channels 1, 6 and 11 experienced congestion with other wireless networks in the school building during peak usage time, Globalstar said. After TLPS installation, downlink throughput increased 45 percent and uplink throughput increased 34 percent, it said. The filing in docket 13-213 recapped a visit to the school by Julius Knapp, FCC Office of Engineering and Technology chief; Troy Tanner, International Bureau deputy chief; and Jose Albuquerque, IB chief-satellite division. Globalstar, which has pushed repeatedly for agency approval, saying demonstrations and tests have proven TLPS poses no interference threat to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (see 1511020016), said the WSG deployment "further confirms the significant public interest benefits of the ... proposed TLPS rules."

Despite FCC efforts to use licensing conditions to plug loopholes in the two-degree spacing policy, the agency needs "a more definitive solution" by eliminating the policy altogether, Intelsat said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 12-267. Intelsat has repeatedly pushed in recent months for doing away with the two-degree spacing rule in favor of ITU filing priority as the basis for coordination requirements (see 1508100064). And in a meeting between company representatives and staff from Chairman Tom Wheeler's office and from the International Bureau Intelsat repeated many of those arguments and said the two-degree spacing rule may be inconsistent with U.S. treaty obligations, the filing said. When the agency asked how to safeguard against higher-priority applicants acting unreasonably in coordination minus the two-degree rule, Intelsat said the FCC "could clearly articulate its intent ... that U.S. licensees and market access recipients abide by the ITU policy that all parties to a coordination act reasonably and attempt to accommodate the operations of other operators."