Other than one consumer filing in favor and a filing by EchoStar, there were no comments on its petition for a waiver that would let it import and sell AirTV, an Internet-enabled set-top box that doesn't include an analog tuner. Deadline for comments in docket 16-329 was Wednesday, with replies due Nov. 2 (see 1610120054).

Commercial fiber-telco networks could be a backup to the GPS system in transmitting precision time signals used in synchronization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology said in a news release Thursday. NIST said it and the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) worked with CenturyLink and Microsemi to find backup possibilities for when GPS signals are disrupted by radio interference or weather. That work includes an ongoing experiment that connects NIST time scales in Colorado with a USNO alternate time scale elsewhere in Colorado via CenturyLink fiber, with time signals sent in regular intervals between the two locations and researchers measuring the differences between the transmitted and local times. The results, presented this month at the International IEEE Symposium on Precision Clock Synchronization for Measurement, Control and Communication in Stockholm, indicated the signals experienced "significant unequal delays," resulting in an accuracy that didn't meet goals, but that using GPS to calibrate the unequal delays could allow for time transfer within the 100 nanosecond goal if GPS were to be disrupted, said NIST. If the fiber network or its power source were to go down and then be re-established, GPS or some other time reference would be needed to recalibrate the fiber circuit, NIST said. The experiment is to run through the end of this year, and there's a possibility of a nationwide time-transfer experiment, it said.

Chairman Tom Wheeler is defending the Globalstar order on circulation from congressional red flags raised about how its LTE network might interfere with assisted listening devices like Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids. Identical letters (here and here) from Wheeler to David McKinley, R-W.Va., and Mike Thompson, D-Calif., were posted Friday in docket 13-213. "I share your interest in ensuring that individuals with hearing loss are not negatively impacted by this proceeding," Wheeler said, saying the draft order on circulation carries conditions safeguarding protection of Bluetooth and other spectrum uses from Globalstar's terrestrial Wi-Fi network and that it "reaffirms the Commission's commitment" to monitoring for impacts on other spectrum users "and to take action, if necessary."

SES booked a total of 23,000 hours of capacity on four satellites for coverage of the Rio Olympics, the satellite operator said in a Thursday announcement. That's a “record uptake” compared with satellite coverage of previous Olympic events, SES said. SES satellite coverage is serving 10 broadcasters in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, it said.

DirecTV can conduct a three-hour deposition of FTC staff attorney Michael Ostheimer about the factual basis for the agency's investigation of DirecTV advertising and the support of its claims, and the FTC can compel the AT&T business to produce the text-mining algorithm it uses on its RIO customer notes system, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of San Francisco in a discovery order (in Pacer) Friday. The two have been clashing over discovery matters (see 1606100016) as part of the FTC's 2015 lawsuit claiming DirecTV didn't properly communicate early cancellation fee terms to subscribers (see 1503110042). James also denied an FTC request to compel the deposition of DirecTV Deputy General Counsel Takehiko Suzuki about the company's compliance with a multistate agreement between DirecTV and all 50 states that dealt with similar claims but that the FTC didn't join, but said the agency can depose a designee to testify about the compliance program. James' order said it dealt with the last remaining discovery disputes.

Dish Network is rolling out a personalized skinny bundle offering, Flex Pack, with eight separate packages of channels that would come atop its $39.99 per month core package, it said in a news release Thursday. Dish said Flex Pack is designed to let customers add and subtract the eight themed channel packs monthly, with their prices ranging from $4 to $10 per month. "Flex Pack provides a level of flexibility and control that brings our customers closer to the ideal of fully tailoring their channel lineup," said Warren Schlichting, executive vice president-marketing, programming and media sales. The themed channel packs include a $10 monthly Locals Pack featuring CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and Univision, a $6 monthly Variety Pack that includes Investigation Discovery, Lifetime Movie Network, Freeform, Bravo, BET and Crime & Investigation, and a $10 monthly National Action Pack of ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, Velocity, AXS TV, Fuse, TV Games Network, TVG2 and Universal HD, Dish said.

Dish Network began selling a $30 voice remote control for its Hopper 3 and 4K Joey set-top boxes Thursday. The Voice Remote can be a universal remote for two infrared devices, said the company. Users can control navigation, search and content selection via voice commands, said Dish. The remote is half the size of a traditional remote and has a clickable touchpad and backlighting, it said.

Pointing to Ligado and GPS company NovAtel's reaching a coexistence agreement (see 1606280067), Leica Geosystems -- which previously told the FCC it had concerns about Ligado's LTE plans possibly interfering with its global navigation satellite systems use -- said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 11-109 that it now supports the modification applications sought by Ligado.

Iridium launched what it's calling an alternative GPS system, Satellite Time and Location (STL). In a news release Monday, the satellite company said STL works across its 66-satellite low earth orbit constellation and provides position, navigation and timing services globally and can be used to verify or substitute for GPS, the Global Navigation Satellite System, Galileo and other navigation services. Iridium said STL also can augment GPS by providing a timing or position source when GPS signals are degraded or unavailable, and its signals penetrate into buildings. The company said its Iridium Next satellite constellation, scheduled for completion by late 2017, will also support STL.

Facebook will employ three SES satellites -- Astra 2G, Astra 3B and Astra 4A -- and various SES services to provide high-speed broadband connectivity services to sub-Saharan Africa through its Express Wi-Fi program, SES said in a news release Wednesday.