The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Public Notice that authorises approximately $18.28 billion (€17.1bn) in Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM) support for carriers that have accepted the offer of Enhanced A-CAM support in the states identified in its Authorisation Report for a 15-year period beginning January 1st 2024.  Collectively, these companies […]

The Federal Communications Commission has voted 3-2 to begin the process of standing back up broadband as a Title II telecommunications service subject to some common-carrier regulations and restoring rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. “Today, there is no expert agency ensuring that the internet is fast, open, and fair… for everyone, everywhere to […]

Bharti Airtel, the Indian telco, has announced that its video streaming service, Airtel Xstream Play, has crossed the five million paid subscriber mark and continues to be the fastest growing OTT aggregator in the country. Airtel Xstream Play offers a bouquet of OTT content aggregated on a single app. Customers have access to content from […]

Charlie Ergen’ DISH Network looks like it will be granted an 800 MHz extension to its existing licensed 5G bandwidth over much of the US. The extension will come about because of a Licence Transfer deal with T-Mobile. In a recent filing with the US District Court for the District of Columbia, DISH has argued […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing to make US cable and satellite operators inform the agency if a channel has gone dark for an extended period due to a retransmission dispute, and to refund subscribers for those extended blackouts. Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has circulated notices of proposed rulemakings (NPRMs) to that effect to fellow […]

Charlie Ergen’s Dish Network has been fined by the FCC for not placing its EchoStar-7 craft in a correct ‘graveyard’ orbit. This is the first time that the FCC has penalised an operator under its space debris enforcement rules. The FCC says that Dish/EchoStar had “violated” its Communications Act. EchoStar 7 was launched in 2002 […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has licensed Elon Musk’s Starlink service to test a ‘Direct-to-device’ service. SpaceX will launch the first of a new batch of enabled satellites in December which when fully established will permit users to make calls via Starlink. Apple and Globalstar already have a similar service running, while Omnispace is planning […]

A report from investment bank BNPP’s Sami Kassab says that October 16th is the likely date when satellite operator SES will receive about $2.99 billion as its share of the FCC’s C-band compensation scheme. SES is also involved in litigation over about $400 million from Intelsat in its claim for a larger percentage of the […]

Lawyers acting for SES have submitted a detailed document to the Bankruptcy Court handling Intelsat’s Chapter 11 reconstruction. The move is made in response to a successful appeal by SES in its ‘breach of contract’ claim for about $421 million (€399.1m) and damages relating to the 50/50 agreement and share of the FCC’s C-band compensation. […]

The FCC is updating and modernising its satellite and teleport/Earth station licensing process. It says the move is designed to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the space industry. The FCC has approved a Report and Order to accelerate existing processes for licensing satellite and earth stations. Noting an “increase in complexity and number” […]