Mobil Satellite Technologies unveiled its RVDataSat840 automatic satellite antenna system and Insta-Sat on-demand consumer broadband satellite Internet service, the company said in a Friday news release. The Insta-Sat service was designed to support the RVDataSat840, which is aimed at the RV market, it said.

The Department of Defense needs more information if it wants better procurement processes, said a 31-page GAO report released Friday. DOD’s “procurement of commercial satellite communications (SATCOM), or bandwidth, is fragmented and inefficient,” the report said. “DOD policy requires all of its components to procure commercial SATCOM through the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), but GAO found that some components are independently procuring SATCOM to meet their individual needs.” DOD concurred with the GAO recommendations that DOD “enforce current policy requiring DISA to acquire all commercial SATCOM” and “conduct a spend analysis identifying procurement inefficiencies and opportunities.” GAO directed the report to the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

EchoStar's Sling Media unveiled its Slingbox M2 service, a set-top box and app combination that allows for streaming of live and recorded home TV content on an unlimited number of mobile devices. Slingbox M2 also lets subscribers of such over-the-top services as Apple TV, Chromecast and Roku move content from mobile devices to any Internet-connected TV anywhere, Sling said in a Thursday news release. The Slingbox M2 costs $200.

LightSquared expects to start testing for interference between its broadband uplink and downlink signals and neighboring spectrum GPS signals by the end of the month, the satellite company said in a filing posted Thursday in FCC docket 12-340. The filing includes an 18-page test plan summary spelling out the devices to be tested -- ranging from iPhone and Galaxy phones to numerous location and navigation devices -- conditions to be tested for and minimal requirements for what LightSquared said would be nominal accuracy. The company is hoping results of the study can lead to settling a legal fight with a number of GPS manufacturers over interference worries (see 1507010018).

Iridium finished testing its compact antenna test range for its Next satellites, it said in a Wednesday news release. The testing marks the first time that a full Iridium Next payload has been powered on in both the L-band and Ka-band and is a major milestone in ensuring satellite functionality in advance of the Next network of 66 satellites being launched, Iridium said. The first satellites in the global broadband network are expected to go up later this year.

The FCC International Bureau partially granted a petition by Iridium asking for clarification regarding a license granted to Inmarsat for operating in the 29.1-29.25 GHz band. Inmarsat in March received approval to build and operate a fixed-satellite service earth station at Lino Lakes, Minnesota, to be used for its Inmarsat-5 F2 satellite, as long as it does not interfere with other mobile satellite service (MSS) feeder link operations. Iridium then filed a petition for reconsideration on a condition of Inmarsat's use of the 29.1-29.25 GHz band, which it uses for its MSS operations. The International Bureau on Tuesday said it agreed to Iridium's request for clarification on whether the condition applies to future MSS feeder links as well as current, but rejected Iridium's request for a clarification that would say Inmarsat cannot claim protection for any reception of signals by the F2 satellite, limiting the condition to strictly between the satellite and the Lino Lakes facility.

Garmin plans to modify its SideVu sonar products after an International Trade Commission administrative law judge determined some were too similar to a patent held by Johnson Outdoors, the GPS company said Tuesday. Johnson Controls filed an ITC complaint in 2014 alleging that some Garmin hardware, including its SideVu sonar imaging transducer, infringe on Johnson Outdoors patents relating to marine sonar imaging. The ALJ's initial determination was that first-generation SideVu products were too similar to some claims of one of the three Johnson Outdoors patents in question, Garmin said. The GPS company said that while it disagrees with the determination and will seek ITC review, it will make changes to SideVu products and should have them commercially available before any ITC final determination becomes effective.

AT&T officials discussed their planned DirecTV buy and "voluntary commitments" to reassure the FCC, the company said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 14-90 about two recent phone calls with agency officials. "The participants discussed the substantial, direct, and verifiable benefits that the AT&T/DirecTV merger will deliver to tens of millions of consumers," AT&T said. "The participants also discussed voluntary commitments that will provide the Commission with further assurance that the transaction will serve the public interest and deliver benefits to consumers." The telco didn't elaborate on the commitments. Twenty-seven members of the American Cable Association pressed the FCC to impose regional sports programming conditions on AT&T/DirecTV, said a recent ex parte filing. ACA continued to urge the FCC to attach program-access conditions to the deal, said a separate ex parte filing. Hispanic-owned broadcaster ZGS continued to ask the FCC for help in persuading AT&T/DirecTV to carry its Spanish-language stations, another ex parte filing showed.

Inmarsat expects to have its Inmarsat-5 F2 satellite operational by the end of July, the company said in a special temporary authority request filed Sunday with the FCC International Bureau. The satellite was launched in February, the second of Inmarsat's Global Xpress constellation of three satellites for its plan to offer a global broadband network expected to go live later this year. In its International Bureau petition, the satellite company said it wants to use its Lino Lakes, Minnesota, earth station for 30 days to connect with the Inmarsat-5 F2 for tracking, telemetry and command functions prior to the satellite starting operational service.

Direct broadcast satellite companies should have the right, not the obligation, to carry a TV station's signal in a market modification, DirecTV said in an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 15-71. The filing said DirecTV counsel Michael Nilsson of Harris Wiltshire met with Evan Baranoff of the Media Bureau to lay out the satellite company's contention that it supports stations having certain carriage rights in their modified markets, as long as there's a means of demonstrating technical or economic reasons for why that signal can't be carried, and that those carriage rights are subject to the same limits that apply to local carriage. DirecTV previously proposed its own form letter for that certification process (see 1506240020).