The Defense Information Systems Agency extended its ViaSat contract to continue to receive in-flight connectivity and broadband services on senior leader aircraft, the company said in a news release Monday. It said the contract extension is part of a noncompetitive firm-fixed price contract, which focuses on ViaSat providing broadband and connectivity services, via its global Ku- and Ka-band communications satellite network, to senior leader and VIP aircraft when in-flight. It said the contract extension has a face value of $19.3 million, with the cumulative face value of the contract being $73.2 million.

Thales' FlytLive Ka-band in-flight connectivity service should be commercially available by year's end, now that the company has FCC authorization for its airborne terminals communicating with the EchoStar XVII, EchoStar XIX, AMC-15 and AMC-16, Thales said in a news release Thursday. The International Bureau approved Thales' application this month. Thales said it seeks other regulatory approvals in the Americas. It said the SES-17 satellite, which is being designed for aeronautical connectivity, will join the FlytLive network after its 2020 launch.

Questions about interference to certified aviation GPS receivers continue to hover over Ligado's terrestrial low-power service plans. In a docket 11-109 filing posted Tuesday, Mike Stanberry, president of air medical services company Metro Aviation, said it's confident Ligado operations wouldn't interfere with safe helicopter operations and disagrees with the assertion Ligado's proposal wouldn't protect safe helicopter navigation. Metro said Ligado's commitment to keep its transmit power below FAA minimum operational performance standards, except in areas 250 feet horizontally distant or 30 feet above any Ligado antenna, should mean it won't affect safe helicopter operation. Aviation interests raised GPS receiver concerns in June (see 1706210030). Garmin Tuesday cited an RTCA review of Ligado's proposal that it said showed unresolved issues that potentially could affect aviation safety. Garmin said the issues include whether Ligado will provide a public database of base station locations, concerns of helicopter operators about relying on GPS-based navigation and GPS-enabled capabilities for obstacle avoidance when near Ligado standoff cylinders, signal acquisition scenarios that haven't been analyzed, and lack of agreement about base station antenna height and inter-site distance Ligado. The GPS device maker said there should be no Ligado authorization until the FAA acknowledges operation of the Ligado network is compatible with certified aviation devices. Meanwhile, in a LinkedIn column Wednesday, Roberson and Associates CEO Dennis Roberson criticized the Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board (PNTAB) for insisting on a 1 dB noise floor interference metric as the best way to assess the effects on GPS (see 1706290043). He said 1 dB metric advocates have been asked repeatedly for references to standards or documentation for use of a noise floor in identifying out-of-band emissions problems, but none have been identified. He also said PNTAB calling Ligado's plans within the 1526-1536 MHz band an "existential threat to GPS" lacks scientific grounding, since there's "a very expansive 27 MHz 'guard band' " between the lower edge of GPS signals and the proposed Ligado terrestrial network.

The FAA gave ViaSat supplemental type certificate approval for its second-generation in-flight entertainment and connectivity system, the company said Tuesday. ViaSat said the certification lets it offer internet service on Boeing 737 aircraft, with the first installation of the equipment certified on a Qantas 737-800 aircraft in June.

Hughes wants FCC International Bureau OK to operate up to 100,000 Skyware Global remote earth terminals in the fixed satellite service. An application Friday for special temporary authority said it held a Ka-band blanket license to operate numerous FSS earth terminals for use in providing broadband, with the satellites communicating with five separate ones, and it wants a 60-day STA to operate Skyware Global earth terminals alongside the others authorized under the license. It said the terminals will operate in the 28.35-28.6 GHz and 29.25-30 GHz bands for uplinks and the 18.3-19.3 GHz and 19.7-20.2 GHz bands for downlinks.

More than 6,200 small satellites are expected to be launched over the next 10 years, with market value potentially reaching $30.1 billion, Euroconsult said in a news release Thursday. It predicted big growth in the earth observation market, with more than 1,100 satellites anticipated to be launched through 2026. It said broadband satcom also will drive heavy smallsat growth, with close to 3,100 satellites expected to be launched through 2026, OneWeb and SpaceX accounting for the bulk. It said of the $16.5 billion in smallsat manufacturing to be done 2017-26, an estimated $3.7 billion will be done in house. The researcher said smallsat launch services are expected to generate $14.5 billion revenue through 2026.

Intelsat, BCom and Newtec jointly unveiled a solar-powered 2G system aimed at rural areas, with its first target market to be sub-Saharan Africa. In a news release Tuesday, they said IntelsatOne Mobile Reach Solar 2G is aimed at mobile network operators looking to expand voice services, and includes satellite, cellular and power components. Solar 2G follows Intelsat partnering with Gilat on a solar-powered 3G service (see 1706290010).

The numerous sports bars and individual DirecTV subscribers suing the MVPD and NFL over DirecTV's Sunday Ticket programming haven't shown the existence of a market where the defendants have the power to restrain trade or artificially inflate prices, U.S. District Judge Beverly Reid O'Connell of Los Angeles said in an order (in Pacer) Friday throwing out 27 consolidated lawsuits. She said the plaintiffs failed to show how DirecTV and the NFL restrained trade or have sufficient market power to artificially drive prices up, especially since the NFL offers free game broadcasts on CBS and Fox. DirecTV might be charging inflated prices for Sunday Ticket, but that by itself doesn't constitute harm to competition, she said. DirecTV's exclusive rights to the NFL programming also has pro-competitive aspects, the judge said, citing DirecTV packaging and promoting products "that result in greater fan access and NFL game exposure." The judge also rejected plaintiffs' arguments that NFL teams’ pooling of their broadcast rights violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act. She said rights to games are owned by multiple entities, including the NFL and whatever teams are taking part in a given game, so the multiple entities have to act collectively to broadcast the games. And she said the plaintiffs don't have standing to challenge the horizontal rights agreement between the NFL and the individual teams since they buy games from DirecTV and thus have standing to sue for damages only from the vertical agreement between DirecTV and the NFL. Defendants in the case were the individual NFL teams, the NFL, DirecTV, CBS, Fox, NBCUniversal and ESPN. In a statement, DirecTV owner AT&T said it "agree[s] with the court’s analysis and [is] pleased with the ruling." Plaintiffs' counsel didn't comment Monday.

SiriusXM bowed the Onyx EZR dock and play radio Tuesday that’s said to improve features at an entry-level price. The unit’s larger display, with improved resolution over its Onyx EZ predecessor, has split-screen, selectable background and text options for improved viewing under different lighting conditions, said the company. The TuneMix feature allows users to listen to a mix of songs from several of their favorite channels, it said.

AT&T reached tentative agreement with 17,000 wireline and DirecTV union workers in California and Nevada, said the company and the Communications Workers of America. “The agreement will be submitted to the union’s membership for a ratification vote in coming days,” AT&T said in a Friday news release. CWA said the proposed four-year agreement includes pay raises, increased job security, retirement benefits and affordable healthcare. The proposed contract is the first for the DirecTV workers. CWA is scheduling meetings to explain the contract, it said. The ratification vote will occur by mail, with results to be counted July 6, a CWA spokeswoman emailed Monday. Negotiations continue between AT&T and wireless workers from 36 states, AT&T and CWA spokespeople said. The wireless, wireline and DirecTV workers together went on a three-day strike last month (see 1705220028).