Harbinger Capital Partners filed suit against Dish Network and CEO Charlie Ergen Tuesday, continuing a long-standing battle between the companies for control of LightSquared. Harbinger’s lawsuit also targets Sound Point Capital Management. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, seeks $1.5 billion in damages over claims Dish and Ergen had used “an illegal scheme involving mail and wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, tortious interference, and abuse of process” to wrest control of LightSquared from Harbinger. The actions violated federal anti-racketeering law and a Colorado organized crime law, Harbinger said. LightSquared founder Phil Falcone, who’s also Harbinger’s senior managing director, resigned from the LightSquared board in June, as did four other Harbinger-appointed board members (CD June 20 p15). Dish had previously offered $2.2 billion for LightSquared but withdrew that bid in January amid a trial in New York federal bankruptcy court in which Harbinger claimed Dish fraudulently became LightSquared’s largest creditor (CD Jan 10 p7). Dish’s bid was never genuine and was an attempt “to displace Harbinger and thereby force a distressed liquidation in which [Ergen] could obtain the assets at an even greater discount,” Harbinger said in the lawsuit. A Harbinger spokesman confirmed the hedge fund had filed the lawsuit but had no further comment. Dish had no immediate comment.

Globalstar continued to urge the FCC to approve its proposal to use some of its mobile satellite services spectrum to provide a terrestrial low-power service. Doing so would quickly add 22 MHz to the wireless broadband spectrum inventory and ease congestion “that is diminishing the quality of Wi-Fi service at high-traffic 802.11 hotspots and other locations,” it said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 13-213 (http://bit.ly/1vC6S3H). With the comment cycle complete, the commission should move forward expeditiously with an order, it said. The reply comment cycle ended last month (CD June 10 p8).

NTIA urged the FCC to consider issues raised by the Department of Transportation on LightSquared’s proposals for operation in the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz band. NTIA included a 2013 letter from DOT into docket 11-109, which was posted in FCC docket 12-340 Wednesday. The letter expresses DOT’s continuing concerns about LightSquared’s proposal, NTIA said (http://bit.ly/TDCxFj). DOT urged the FCC and NTIA to ensure that the proposals are adequately supported by data. DOT also urged the other agencies not to support or approve any such proposal “without a full understanding of the potential impacts."

The concurrent final rules on transferring items from U.S. Munitions List category XI to the Commerce Control List include revisions for satellite systems. The Commerce and State departments released the final rules on the transfer of dual-use items Monday (CD July 1 p12). Most of the rules are effective Dec. 30, the departments said Tuesday in Federal Register notices (http://1.usa.gov/1z5Fakc; http://1.usa.gov/1lwGfaz). Revisions include one made to control antennas that employ four or more elements, electronically steer angular beams and achieve a beam switching speed faster than 50 milliseconds. That came in response to commenters who indicated the previous rule was written in a way that would control items like antennas designed for transmitting radio communications via a commercially operated fixed or mobile satellite service system, which is already controlled by an export control classification number, the State Department notice said. The final rules were released as part of previously disclosed export control overhaul (CD May 13 p12).

The Commerce and State departments released concurrent final rules to transfer dual-use items from U.S. Munitions List category XI to the Commerce Control List as part of previously disclosed export control reform (CD May 13 p12). The rules are effective Dec. 30, aside from minor changes that take effect upon publication in the Federal Register, said notices from Commerce (http://1.usa.gov/1mBtEmA) and State (http://1.usa.gov/Txd9Rw) appearing in Tuesday’s Federal Register.

Newtec has delivered more than 110,000 units of its IP satellite modems for SES Broadband Services. The modems were used for Ka- and Ku-band services, Newtec said Monday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1nXtiYQ). Newtec helped SES extend coverage of the 20 Mbps Ka-band service into Germany, Italy and the U.K., it said.

DirecTV and Dish Network partnered with i360, a data and technology provider to the political community, on the satellite-TV companies’ effort to provide an addressable TV ad platform to political campaigns. I360 will provide “pre-matched voter and issue data for Republican and conservative campaigns,” the direct broadcast satellite companies said in a news release. The arrangement will allow campaigns and advocacy organizations “to target their TV ads at the household level using issue data contained in the i360 database,” they said. The companies announced this year that they would combine sales efforts to provide the platform (CD Jan 28 p6). With i360, the partnership, D2 Media Sales, allows campaigns to choose from more than 35 pre-matched segments focusing on voter registration, party affiliation, economic issues and other areas, they said.

Globalstar’s voice and data solution, Sat-Fi, is available. It lets customers use their current smartphones, tablets and laptops “to send and receive communications when traveling beyond cellular,” Globalstar said in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1l73NCH). With a smartphone app that enables connectivity between any Wi-Fi-enabled device and the Sat-Fi hot spot, users can send and receive email and SMS text messages and make voice calls from their own devices, it said.

Bigelow Aerospace urged the FCC to begin a proceeding to allocate spectrum for future commercial satellites. The rulemaking is needed for implementation of Bigelow’s plans “to provide access to on-orbit commercial research and development facilities for national space agencies, private companies and research organizations agencies,” Bigelow said in an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 13-115 (http://bit.ly/1szrLQS). The commission also will need to address the regulatory classification and service rules applicable to crewed commercial space station operations, it said in a filing about a meeting with the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology and staff from the International Bureau.

Eutelsat announced a plan for a high-capacity triple-mission satellite. The satellite, Eutelsat 172B, “will support sustained demand for capacity for data, fixed and mobile broadband services as well as video,” Eutelsat said Thursday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1ioBXqJ). It will launch in 2017 to the 172 degrees east orbital position, it said. It also will host a C-band payload that will enhance service provided to existing customers and tap into new growth markets in Southeast Asia, it said.