Contrary to what the U.S. Bankruptcy Court decided, SES and Intelsat's C-Band Alliance agreement "is certainly not a model of clarity," U.S. District Judge Robert Payne for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled Friday as he reversed the Bankruptcy Court's denial of SES' $421 million claim against Intelsat for the collapse of the CBA. In his 57-page decision Friday (docket 3:22-cv-00668),Payne remanded the case to Bankruptcy Court. SES sought damages from the CBA's collapse as part of Intelsat's now-concluded Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see 2007140029). At oral argument in March, Payne was critical of the CBA agreement (see 2303200062).
Matt Daneman
Matt Daneman, Senior Editor, covers pay TV, cable broadband, satellite, and video issues and the Federal Communications Commission for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications in 2015 after more than 15 years at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, where he covered business among other issues. He also was a correspondent for USA Today. You can follow Daneman on Twitter: @mdaneman
Without intervention, China will repeat the strategy that let it largely erode the West's once-unassailable advantage in telecommunications technology, but this time China will focus on AI, cloud computing and other vital core technologies, said Nate Fick, State Department's inaugural ambassador-at-large-cyberspace and digital policy, Wednesday at a Hudson Institute event. He was confirmed in September (see 2209150049). Citing China's subsidization of domestic companies and its financing of internet architecture deployments in developing nations, Fick said that "we are not going to match them dollar for dollar." Instead, the U.S. needs to identify specific technologies and geographies that matter most and build coalitions around them, he said.
The FCC's proposed "all-in" video pricing rules for cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operators' bills and promotional materials wouldn't cover other MVPDs, though the agency in the NPRM adopted last week and released Tuesday seeks comment on whether such rules should also cover them, and whether it has the authority to do so. Consumer advocates expected the item on circulation to pass (see 2303270043). NCTA, ACA Connects, DirecTV and Dish Network didn't comment.
Expect sizable DOCSIS 4.0 technology rollouts among cable ISPs starting in 2024 as they look to set the stage for multi-gig fixed broadband speeds, cable companies and experts said. It will likely be mid- to late next year when rollouts of scale start, and widespread deployment will take years, said Dan Whalen, CEO of broadband access technology company ATX Networks.
Major broadcasters are banking heavily on ATSC 3.0-enabled datacasting services as a significant future revenue stream, speakers said Thursday at a NextGen TV conference in Washington. Numerous broadcasters said one big NextGen hurdle remains the dearth of ATSC 3.0 receivers and 3.0-compatible TV sets deployed and in use.
The FCC's proposal to limit mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) operations to co-channel licenses held by one party in geographically independent areas (GIA) is getting pushback from some satellite and terrestrial interests, per NPRM reply comments in docket 23-65 Tuesday. There was wireless and satellite disagreement on whether a waiver system suffices or if the agency needs SCS rules. The SCS NPRM was adopted 4-0 in March (see 2303160009) and the wireless industry argued in initial comments SCS rules are premature (see 2305150007).
Dish Network has likely made its Wednesday deadline for its 5G wireless network covering 70% of the U.S. population, though its 2025 coverage requirement -- with requirements for each individual license -- could be a bigger challenge, wireless industry experts told us. Dish and the FCC didn't comment, though Dish Executive Vice President of Network Development Dave Mayo said at the CTIA 5G Summit last month the company would meet the FCC-set milestone. Dish's final buildout deadline is June 14, 2025, for it to offer 5G to at least 75% of the population in each partial economic area.
The satellite industry is playing defense at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference against potentially opening some bands allocated for satellite use to terrestrial mobile service, said Hogan Lovells space lawyer George John Thursday at an ABA space law symposium in Washington.
Pennsylvania House committees passed bills on 911 and 988 funding Wednesday, though some lawmakers voiced concerns about the state's means of funding of the emergency call services.
The growing cadence of commercial space launches is facing a bottleneck from lack of available launch sites, space launch experts told us. A plethora of launch providers is operating or developing launch capability, but facilities “are where we started to get the hiccups," said space lawyer Bryce Kennedy, Association of Commercial Space Professionals president.