Inmarsat launched its first vehicular antenna for the IsatPhone 2, the company said in a Thursday news release. Designed by AeroAntenna Technology, the external, vehicle-mounted, active antenna enables IsatPhone 2 users to have high quality, uninterrupted voice connectivity while on the move, the company said. The new antenna kit will be beneficial for organizations with teams traveling in remote locations, Inmarsat said.

High regulatory fees for satellite network operators are disconnected from the actual costs for the FCC to regulate them, the Satellite Industry Association said in meetings Thursday and Monday with aides to all commission members, according to an ex parte filing. The agency “must conduct a function-based analysis of full-time equivalents (FTEs) throughout the Commission in order to ensure that current direct and indirect costs are fairly allocated,” SIA said. The FCC “can do more to determine which licensees are directly benefited by many of the FTEs currently categorized as ‘indirect,’" SIA said. “Such a recalculation will ensure that fees are assessed more accurately and fairly.”

A lawyer for NCTA said it and CableLabs want more testing of Globalstar's terrestrial low-power service for broadband before the FCC allows TLPS. The company's proposal to provide a terrestrial service that's co-channel with its mobile satellite service operations shows that an emissions mask at the top of the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band isn't needed, wrote NCTA lawyer Paul Margie of Harris Wiltshire. "Any action on Globalstar’s TLPS proposal should be accompanied by a relaxation or elimination of the strict unwanted emissions mask." The company hasn't provided "compelling evidence" to keep the mask, said the filing posted Tuesday to docket 13-213 on a conversation Margie and CableLabs and NCTA officials had with an aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Globalstar has said CableLabs' demos, which that R&D group said raised TLPS concerns, were flawed and the service would be a "good neighbor" to Wi-Fi operations in the band (see 1504240035).

Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology contracted with Lockheed Martin to manufacture two A2100 communications satellites, which will be used for Internet, phone, TV and secure communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, said an Arabsat news release Tuesday. Lockheed Martin, KACST and Taqnia Space, a subsidiary of Saudi Technology Investment and Development Co., signed an agreement to explore future design, manufacture, assembly and integration of satellites in Saudi Arabia. The two satellites will boost Arabsat's fleet to 10 in-orbit operational satellites, the release said. It said the contracts were signed April 9, with construction starting immediately and planned 2018 launch.

Globalstar countered CableLabs and NCTA claims (see 1504230054) about Globalstar's terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) demonstrations, in an ex parte notice posted at the FCC Friday in docket 13-213. The compatibility demos confirmed that TLPS will be a "good neighbor" to Wi-Fi operations in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band, including IEEE 802.11 Channel 11, Globalstar said. CableLab's demo was flawed, it used an unrealistic equipment setup and it didn't demonstrate negative effects from TLPS on the adjacent Wi-Fi band, Globalstar said. "The Commission should give no weight to this contrived attempt to produce a detrimental impact on Wi-Fi." Globalstar said CableLabs didn't submit all of its test results to the commission and instead selected "specific data points that purportedly show a negative effect on Wi-Fi Channel 11," it said. The commission shouldn't require additional tests for every deployment scenario possible under its proposed TLPS rules because it would be "bad policy and bad precedent," Globalstar said. The commission's Part 15 rules don't protect unlicensed services from interference, it said. CableLabs wants to test five to 10 other Wi-Fi devices with TLPS for interference issues for a "representative sample," said Rob Alderfer, CableLabs principal strategic analyst, Friday. “There’s a wide range of equipment that is out there in the Wi-Fi ecosystem today,” he said. “We’d want to look at different grade access points on the Wi-Fi and TLPS side and different types of client devices.” CableLabs offered its radio frequency chamber and an outdoor residential environment to test real-world impacts of TLPS, Alderfer said. “We’re happy to participate in other venues as well,” he said. “We’re looking to be a technical resource in this process.”

The Copyright Royalty Board said in Wednesday’s Federal Register that its judges are ending the proceeding begun March 30 to determine royalty rates for secondary transmission of broadcasts by satellite carriers and distributors. The judges decided the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization allows royalty rates that took effect Dec. 31 to remain current and are subject only to regular annual fee adjustments, the board said.

AT&T's planned buy of DirecTV should include conditions of consumer choice, supplier diversity and union labor, said Democratic San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee in a comment posted Thursday in FCC docket 14-90. After the acquisition, AT&T should commit to a goal of 25 percent of total procurement to come from certified diverse businesses, Lee said. "Historically, AT&T has shown its commitment to diversity as a leader in corporate supplier diversity; targeting their procurement to be spent with certified minority, women, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises." DirecTV should transition to a unionized and fairly represented workforce after the acquisition, he said. In the first phase of the acquisition, AT&T/DirecTV should offer stand-alone products to maintain uninterrupted service for their existing customers, Lee said. "While bundling could help reduce cost, I value giving customers a choice." Consumers across the U.S. will benefit from the transaction, he said. San Francisco residents need affordable, high-quality Internet, TV, phone and video products, he said. "We cannot tackle these critical challenges alone," Lee said. "AT&T and DIRECTV share my commitment to support our communities, and I look forward to continuing to partner with both of them to lift our residents up and make sure our working families share in the prosperity of our City."

Globalstar Europe Satellite Services and Fagor Electronica, a Spanish technology and fleet tracking specialist, agreed to deliver satellite tracking technology for the trucking industry with Globalstar's SmartOne, Globalstar said Thursday. The technology is being distributed and deployed through Skytracking, Fagor's authorized distributor in Colombia, it said. Globalstar's SmartOne satellite technology will help transportation companies monitor and track a fleet of vehicles, even if they're outside Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) range, Globalstar said. The system reports the location of a vehicle and information about engine time usage and total mileage, it said.

Dish Network launched WeatherNation, a multiformat, local, regional and national TV weather news service, in a multiyear agreement, Dish said Thursday. The agreement includes a national weather information channel and an interactive app for local weather, available on Dish's Hopper and other select set-top boxes, it said. WeatherNation, Channel 215, is available to Dish customers for a six-week free preview, Dish said. Dish, Motel 6 and World Cinema, which delivers satellite TV to hotels, also completed a multiyear agreement for Dish and World Cinema to deliver high definition satellite TV service and high-speed Internet access to over 500 of Motel 6's properties, Dish said Wednesday. Motel 6 chose Dish's smartbox to deliver in-room entertainment, Dish said. Smartbox can be upgraded with new features through downloads via satellite, without requiring new equipment, it said.

Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar met with FCC International Bureau staff April 16 to discuss a document titled "Part 25 Rulemaking: An Opportunity to Enable Operational Flexibility, Regulatory Certainty, and Technology Neutrality to Benefit U.S. Consumers,” EchoStar said in an ex parte notice posted Monday in docket 12-267. EchoStar distributed the document at the meeting, it said.