The FCC International Bureau granted EchoStar’s request to extend the term of its license for the EchoStar 6 satellite until Jan. 31, 2019. The satellite operates at 96.2 degrees west. “We conclude that grant of the requested license modification is consistent with our practices concerning granting extensions of license terms and will serve the public interest by continuing to facilitate possible development of new services to the Atlantic Ocean region,” the bureau said Tuesday. The license term expired Aug. 11, 2014, the bureau said. EchoStar sought an extension June 19, 2014.

Hughes Network Systems announced its portable BGAN terminal, the Hughes 9211-HDR, that instantly supports communications-on-the-move applications by docking to an active tracking antenna mounted to a vehicle, said the company in a news release Tuesday. The 9211-HDR combined portable/mobile satellite terminal can dock with a Class 10 or Class 11 mobile antenna to support BGAN communications on-the-move, it said. The terminal can connect at background IP speeds of up to 400+ kbps in both transmit and receive, Hughes said.

LightSquared hasn't pursued any "significant site development activity" related to a two-way terrestrial mobile service in recent months, it told the FCC in a commission-required update dated April 30 and posted in docket 08-184 Monday. It said the development pause is because of the agency's 2012 public notice recommending a waiver to the company be vacated and LightSquared's ancillary terrestrial component authority be put on hold. "LightSquared has focused its efforts on resolving the underlying spectrum and deployment issues identified by the Commission," it said, noting that in September 2012, it proposed ways to deploy terrestrial broadband service to ensure operations are compatible with GPS receivers. The company said Qualcomm has integrated L-band LTE technology in its chipset road map and "developed an advanced satellite air interface technology" for satellite mode operation of mobile devices. LightSquared last month sought FCC OK of foreign ownership, as it's exiting bankruptcy (see 1504160047).

Hughes Satellite revenue likely will rise by a mid- to high-single digit percentage in the next few years, driven by its satellite broadband segment, said Standard & Poor's Wednesday, raising the company's credit rating to BB- from B+. The rating might be cut if the satellite broadband business weakens over the next year, such as through increased customer churn or adding fewer subscribers.

Continuing demand for satellite communications will translate to continued spending on military satellite terminals, forecast Strategy Analytics. North America is estimated to have the largest demand, but will be superseded by spending from the Asia-Pacific region from 2017 onward, said the report, according to a Thursday news release.

Inmarsat launched its first vehicular antenna for the IsatPhone 2, the company said in a Thursday news release. Designed by AeroAntenna Technology, the external, vehicle-mounted, active antenna enables IsatPhone 2 users to have high quality, uninterrupted voice connectivity while on the move, the company said. The new antenna kit will be beneficial for organizations with teams traveling in remote locations, Inmarsat said.

Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology contracted with Lockheed Martin to manufacture two A2100 communications satellites, which will be used for Internet, phone, TV and secure communications to customers in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, said an Arabsat news release Tuesday. Lockheed Martin, KACST and Taqnia Space, a subsidiary of Saudi Technology Investment and Development Co., signed an agreement to explore future design, manufacture, assembly and integration of satellites in Saudi Arabia. The two satellites will boost Arabsat's fleet to 10 in-orbit operational satellites, the release said. It said the contracts were signed April 9, with construction starting immediately and planned 2018 launch.

A lawyer for NCTA said it and CableLabs want more testing of Globalstar's terrestrial low-power service for broadband before the FCC allows TLPS. The company's proposal to provide a terrestrial service that's co-channel with its mobile satellite service operations shows that an emissions mask at the top of the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band isn't needed, wrote NCTA lawyer Paul Margie of Harris Wiltshire. "Any action on Globalstar’s TLPS proposal should be accompanied by a relaxation or elimination of the strict unwanted emissions mask." The company hasn't provided "compelling evidence" to keep the mask, said the filing posted Tuesday to docket 13-213 on a conversation Margie and CableLabs and NCTA officials had with an aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Globalstar has said CableLabs' demos, which that R&D group said raised TLPS concerns, were flawed and the service would be a "good neighbor" to Wi-Fi operations in the band (see 1504240035).

High regulatory fees for satellite network operators are disconnected from the actual costs for the FCC to regulate them, the Satellite Industry Association said in meetings Thursday and Monday with aides to all commission members, according to an ex parte filing. The agency “must conduct a function-based analysis of full-time equivalents (FTEs) throughout the Commission in order to ensure that current direct and indirect costs are fairly allocated,” SIA said. The FCC “can do more to determine which licensees are directly benefited by many of the FTEs currently categorized as ‘indirect,’" SIA said. “Such a recalculation will ensure that fees are assessed more accurately and fairly.”

AT&T's planned buy of DirecTV should include conditions of consumer choice, supplier diversity and union labor, said Democratic San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee in a comment posted Thursday in FCC docket 14-90. After the acquisition, AT&T should commit to a goal of 25 percent of total procurement to come from certified diverse businesses, Lee said. "Historically, AT&T has shown its commitment to diversity as a leader in corporate supplier diversity; targeting their procurement to be spent with certified minority, women, and disabled veteran-owned business enterprises." DirecTV should transition to a unionized and fairly represented workforce after the acquisition, he said. In the first phase of the acquisition, AT&T/DirecTV should offer stand-alone products to maintain uninterrupted service for their existing customers, Lee said. "While bundling could help reduce cost, I value giving customers a choice." Consumers across the U.S. will benefit from the transaction, he said. San Francisco residents need affordable, high-quality Internet, TV, phone and video products, he said. "We cannot tackle these critical challenges alone," Lee said. "AT&T and DIRECTV share my commitment to support our communities, and I look forward to continuing to partner with both of them to lift our residents up and make sure our working families share in the prosperity of our City."