News Archive
FCC OKs Broadband Service for Airplanes
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, November 26 2007
The Federal Communications Commission granted ViaSat blanket authority for domestic operation of up to 1,000 earth stations aboard commercial aircraft. The agency said the earth stations will provide Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service using standard Ku-band frequency ranges to link with leased transponders on the AMC-6 satellite.
According to FCC documents, the ViaSat aircraft earth stations will provide two-way broadband communications for passengers and aircrew members aboard commercial airliners and private business jets, with access to email, the internet and corporate virtual networks. Implementation of the ViaSat AMSS system will enhance competition within the mobile telecommunications market in the U.S., the agency said.
ViaSat said its planned AMSS system, dubbed Arclight, is designed to provide two-way broadband data communications via satellite radio links between aircraft earth stations and ground earth stations. Viasat said it will use previously-licensed ground stations in Carlsbad, Calif. which it currently operates to support ARINC's SkyLink AMSS system.
ViaSat said in its blanket-license application that there are no terrestrial radio services licensed for operation in North America in the same GHz band that would receive interference from operation of Arclight AES terminals.
Spacewalking astronauts hook up Harmony module
-- Posted by soullezzon Saturday, November 24 2007
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- A pair of astronauts went on a spacewalk Saturday to finish wiring the international space station's newest room, the last hurdle the crew had to clear before the shuttle Atlantis can deliver a new European laboratory.
Commander Peggy Whitson and Daniel Tani hooked up more electrical and fluid connections linking the space station and the Harmony compartment that was delivered by the shuttle Discovery last month.
That will allow Harmony to serve as a docking port for the European lab, named Columbus, which is scheduled to be delivered in December. A Japanese lab due to be delivered early next year also will dock to the school bus-sized module.
Flight controllers on the ground plan to check all of Harmony's systems on Sunday before giving Atlantis the go-ahead to deliver Columbus.
Much of Saturday's work involved lugging a second 18½-foot, 300-pound tray holding fluid lines to Harmony and bolting it down. The lines carry ammonia, a coolant. The astronauts moved and installed another fluid tray on Tuesday.
"Don't rush," Whitson told Tani as they struggled to move the bulky tray. They took turns handling the equipment, with one astronaut passing it to the other and then crawling forward for another hand-off.
"Cool, I can feel the ammonia rushing in," Tani commented after he hooked up one of the fluid lines.
DISH Expands Interactive Weather Service
-- Posted by soullezzon Friday, November 23 2007
EchoStar Communications is teaming with The Weather Channel to launch a new weather service on the company's DISH Network satellite TV platform. DISH subscribers now have access to an interactive weather program offered in tandem with the weather-related network.
Effective immediately, the company said, DISH Network customers watching The Weather Channel on DISH channel 214 will have ongoing access to extensive local and national weather information including current conditions, Doppler radar, and 24-hour/five-day forecasts. The interactive service also allows viewers to access weather data from across the country and save up to five favorite markets.
DISH said before this announced service expansion, viewers could only access the interactive feature through DishHOME channel 100.
"The innovative ITV application for local weather for DISH Network customers enables The Weather Channel to provide viewers with truly personalized weather forecasts that give customized, targeted information to help them plan their day," said Becky Powhatan, The Weather Channel EVP, distribution and business affairs. "And now it's become even easier and faster to obtain."
DISH Network's iTV service offers an interactive menu that includes more than 40 different virtual and enhanced channels including The Weather Channel's Interactive Weather Application, CNN Enhanced and Showtime Interactive. DISH said it has the most iTV-enabled set top boxes with more than 12 million households.
Firm Questions Satellite Radio Merger Filing
-- Posted by soullezzon Friday, November 23 2007
Georgetown Partners, a minority-owned private equity firm, Tuesday questioned the XM/Sirius satellite radio merger saying the companies' latest joint filing contains "disingenuous statements and inaccuracies." Among the complaints raised by the firm include misrepresentations from the industry about support for the merger, and satellite radio's failure to contradict Georgetown's take on the "fundamental flaws" within the merger's current structure.
Georgetown's submission also points out what it says is the risk to family-oriented programming from a unified satellite radio company in light of Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin's "long track record of promoting programming considered by the FCC to be indecent and his championing of Howard Stern." By contrast, the firm said, if it leases and operates broadcasting infrastructure and satellite channels, all of its programming will comply with the FCC's broadcast indecency rules even though such rules do not apply to satellite broadcasting.
According to a letter submitted to the Federal Communications Commission, Georgetown said the proposed Sirius/XM merger should not be approved as it is now structured because such approval would have unprecedented adverse competitive effects. The firm suggested that in order to avoid anti-competitive effects, the FCC should require the satellite radio companies to lease their broadcast infrastructure and at least 20 percent of their channel capacity "on a long term or permanent basis to a minority-controlled entity."
Coincidentally, Georgetown also told the regulatory agency that it is prepared to negotiate such a lease with Sirius and XM.
"If this merger is approved as structured, the commission will have approved the creation of a single entity with control over all 300-plus nationwide satellite radio broadcast channels, thereby enabling this entity to exclude any programmer or message, for any reason, from the national satellite radio marketplace," the firm said. "This would be the first time such absolute control in this country is created over such an important and fast-growing medium."
Happy Thanksgiving!
-- Posted by soullezzon Thursday, November 22 2007
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Drive Safely!
Workers prepare for Macy's parade on 'inflation eve'
-- Posted by soullezzon Thursday, November 22 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- This year's Macy's Thanksgiving parade will march down Broadway on Thursday with a grumpy green Shrek -- one of three new balloons -- and the Virginia Tech marching band playing in tribute to victims of last spring's campus shooting.
The 81st annual parade will also feature the cast of "Legally Blonde" minus costumes and props, which are locked behind the picket lines of striking Broadway stagehands.
This year's 11 giant helium balloons include three new ones: William Steig's swamp-loving ogre, "Sesame Street's" fairy-in-training Abby Cadabby and Hello Kitty Supercute, the cape- and tiara-wearing feline superhero. See photos of the parade preperation »
When the parade gets under way Thursday, it'll be to a Michael Feinstein tune especially written for 600 kids from around the nation whose opening number was choreographed by John Dietrich of the Radio City Rockettes.
Some 10,000 people will march this year, half of them Macy's employees.
Among them will be almost 2,000 cheerleaders, 800 clowns, the Rockettes and 11 marching bands including the Virginia Tech Regimental Band -- nicknamed the Highty-Tighties -- on the route from Central Park West to Herald Square in front of Macy's.
Former FCC Head Supports Sat Radio Merger
-- Posted by soullezzon Wednesday, November 14 2007
Making Sirius and XM interests happy, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt voiced support for the satellite radio companies' merger in a recent interview with current FCC members. Hundt, who headed the regulatory agency from 1993 to 1997, helped to formulate rules governing satellite radio, was in integral part of granting Sirius and XM their licenses and now says the merger will further competition within the category.
During the interview, Hundt discussed the proposed merger, the creation of the satellite radio regulations, the rationale behind establishing two satellite radio licenses and developments within the audio entertainment market since 1997. When asked what his views were toward the XM/Sirius merger, Hundt said that far more likely than not, a unified satellite radio industry would be pro-competitive.
"It seems to me that what has happened over time is that these two firms have proved when kept apart to be incapable of mounting the really serious competition against ... terrestrial radio that I had always hoped for," Hundt told the FCC. "And it seems to me that there's no indication of any anticompetitive outcome if they do combine, so let's give them a chance to have a sharper point on the arrow and see if they can do better in terms of penetrating the listener audience."
With regards to the creation of two separate licenses for the companies, Hundt said it was unclear what was the best business model, and that it was never the case that the current service rules were written in stone. Speaking on the separate licenses, Hundt said, "It was an attempt to figure out a good way to get the satellite radio industry off to a pro-competitive start and then ... see what works and what doesn't."
Hundt also said the market has fundamentally changed since the "digitization" of content delivery, and that satellite radio is now neither a distinct market or the only competitor against terrestrial broadcasting.
"The competitive force of satellite radio was one of the very few arrows we had to shoot at this elephant-like industry that was going to be created in terrestrial radio. And as I said, looking back over the last ten years, both things proved to be true," he said. "It's just that the arrow, if you want to put it that way, of satellite radio has not had a sharp
enough point on it."
Satellite Radio Shareholders Approve Merger
-- Posted by soullezzon Wednesday, November 14 2007
Shareholders from both Sirius and XM voted Tuesday to approve the pending satellite radio merger between the competitors at separate company meetings.
Preliminary voting numbers at both satellite radio companies indicate the merger was approved with an overwhelmingly majority of stockholders. XM said upwards of 98 percent of voters approved the company's plans to merge, while Sirius said about 96 percent agreed to go forward with the union.
"The approval by Sirius stockholders of our merger with XM represents a significant step in the approval process," said Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin. "We look forward to completing the merger by the end of the year, and together with XM, becoming an even stronger competitor in the ever expanding audio entertainment marketplace."
Gary Parsons, XM's chairman agreed saying, "Today's vote is the latest demonstration of the strong support for our merger from a wide range of individuals and prestigious organizations who recognize the benefits that a merger will bring to consumers."
The merger remains subject to regulatory approval by the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. Under terms of the deal, XM stockholders would receive 4.6 Sirius shares for each XM share they hold, XM said.
Intelsat Reports Q3 Results
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, November 12 2007
Fixed satellite service provider Intelsat reported revenue of $546.1 million and a net loss of $42.6 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2007. The company also reported earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $404.5 million, and adjusted EBITDA for Intelsat Bermuda of $427 million, or 78 percent of revenue, for the period.
Intelsat said results for the first nine months of its fiscal year reflect the impact of its July 2006 acquisition of PanAmSat, subsequently renamed Intelsat Holding Corporation. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Intelsat reported revenue of $1.6 billion and a net loss of $189.3 million.
Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade said the company's "solid" performance in the quarter reflects a successful integration with PanAmSat and that the company is effectively executing its strategy for revenue growth. Intelsat's Q307 revenue grew in excess of 7 percent over the prior year quarter, excluding the legacy channel service offering and termination fees recognized in the third quarter of 2006, he said.
With the successful launch of Intelsat-11 last month, McGlade said Intelsat's satellite operations team is now focusing on Horizons-2, the company's final launch of 2007. Intelsat's remaining satellite program, which includes four replacement satellites to be launched over the next two years and one ground spare, will deliver high-power capacity to current orbital locations and increase the return on the company's asset base by driving higher satellite utilization rates, the exec said.
Tele Atlas Accepts TomTom Bid
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, November 12 2007
Tele Atlas last week accepted the latest bid from TomTom to purchase the digital map-making company for $4.3 billion. The company also recommended shareholders support TomTom's bid over rival GPS company Garmin's $3.3 billion offer.
The company's acceptance of TomTom's offer seems to settle what could have been a long bidding war for Tele Atlas. But, some industry observers say Garmin may not be done yet.
According to Soleil Equity Research's Peter Friedland, Garmin could respond with yet a higher bid because owning Tele Atlas is still important to the U.S.-based GPS giant. A spokesman for the company said Garmin is reviewing the current offer on the table and its options, "but at this point, we don't have anything specific to report."
EchoStar's Third Quarter Results
-- Posted by soullezzon Monday, November 12 2007
EchoStar Communications reported total revenue of $2.79 billion for the third quarter, a 12.9 percent increase compared with $2.48 billion for the corresponding period in 2006.
Net income totaled $200 million for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, 2007, compared with $140 million during the same quarter last year. Basic earnings per share jumped to 45 cents for the quarter, compared with basic earnings per share of 31 cents year-over-year.
EchoStar’s DISH Network service, the nation’s third largest pay-TV provider, added around 110,000 net new subscribers during the third quarter, ending the period with about 13.695 million subscribers, the company said.