Intelsat requested a 30-day extension of its special temporary authority to operate Galaxy 26 in the C and Ku bands. Intelsat wants the STA to begin March 20, it said in its application to the FCC International Bureau (http://bit.ly/1nnH9gn). Galaxy 26 is at 49.9 degrees east, it said.

SES signed an agreement with Oman-based wireless operator Nawras for capacity on SES’s NSS-6 satellite. The capacity will allow Nawras to provide a global system for mobile communications backhaul and broadband across Oman, including in rural areas, SES said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1i9tsgt). The satellite is located at 95 degrees east and its high-performance Ku-band beam is devised “to support key telecom infrastructure, enterprise and broadband networks across several regions, including the Middle East,” it said.

MTN introduced a social media threat intelligence service. A predictive service unveiled Monday, it enables U.S. government agencies using social networking, mobile devices and distributed workforces “to protect against the onslaught of cyber threats,” MTN said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1qqdW3t). The service identifies and analyzes malicious actors, threats and targeted attacks, “and provides proactive, actionable threat analytics and intelligence in advance of any network compromise,” it said.

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association asked the FCC to grant a petition declaring that rules of a Littleton, Colo., homeowners association regarding satellite dish installation are unenforceable. SBCA’s comments pertain to a petition filed by Rhonda Rivenburg of Littleton, who claimed that such rules of the Dutch Ridge Home Owners Association are preempted by the FCC over-the-air reception devices (OTARD) rule (CD Feb 7 p18). The homeowners association rules impair installation, maintenance and use of protected antennas, SBCA said in docket 14-40 (http://bit.ly/1dIF608). These rules “forbid satellite dish installation without prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee,” it said. The FCC “has repeatedly held that such prior approval requirements violate OTARD,” it said. The commission also has held that indemnification requirements violate OTARD, SBCA said. Comments were due Friday.

Emerging Markets Communications (EMC) Satcom Technologies unveiled the Software Release 16 technology for its SatLink product line. The technology enables large network operators and end-user organizations “the ability to choose the network structure best-suited for any given customers or part of their satellite communication infrastructure,” EMC said in a news release. Large network operators are now able to serve mission critical government and corporate networks with multiple virtual private networks secured by AES-256 encryption and independent IP addressing, it said. The technology was unveiled Monday at the Satellite 2014 conference in Washington.

The FCC International Bureau dismissed The World Network’s application for a new license of a temporary-fixed satellite transmit-only earth station. The earth station was intended to transmit in the 14.0-14.5 GHz frequency band and receive in the 10.95-12.75 GHz frequency band with ALSAT-designated satellites, a group of satellites owned by Algeria, it said in a letter to The World Network (http://bit.ly/P9SXEd). The application is inconsistent and incomplete, it said. The applicant didn’t submit a radiation hazard study and errors in listing the frequency bands and emission designator must be corrected, it said.

Inmarsat appointed IEC Telecom Group as a reseller for Global Xpress, Inmarsat’s forthcoming Ka-band network. IEC, a fixed and mobile satellite services provider, will focus on opportunities for Global Xpress high-throughput satellite services in the energy, media and nongovernmental organization sectors, Inmarsat said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1ia08sG). IEC will focus on serving the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia regions, Inmarsat said.

Nielsen must sell and license certain Arbitron cross-platform audience measurement services for eight years, in the final FTC order settling an FTC complaint, the commission said Friday (http://1.usa.gov/1gHGBdM). The final order allows Nielsen Holdings to complete its acquisition of audience measurement company Arbitron. The FTC had filed a complaint in September (http://1.usa.gov/1fZjklQ). The commissioners voted 2-1-1 with Josh Wright dissenting and Maureen Ohlhausen recusing herself. The FTC received one comment from Jonathon Yinger, owner of a group of radio stations called the Christian Broadcasting System, arguing the acquisition would hurt small broadcasters’ access to radio ratings data if they did not subscribe to Arbitron’s ratings. The FTC replied that “the relief obtained pursuant to the order appropriately addresses the competitive concerns arising from the acquisition” (http://1.usa.gov/1oc2KUh).

Broadcasters are “leveraging outdated rules” to harm consumers with blackouts and “outrageous increases in retrans fees,” said a Time Warner Cable spokesman Friday in an emailed response to a blog post from broadcaster group TVFreedom (CD Feb 28 p16). “It is therefore not surprising that TWC, along with a wide range of other [multichannel video program distributors] MVPDs, public interest groups and independent programmers, have all brought this issue to the attention of policymakers,” said the TWC spokesman. TWC’s long-term deal to air Los Angeles Dodgers baseball games “allows us to keep Dodgers games and programming at a fair cost for our customers over for the next 25 years,” the spokesman said.

The FCC canceled its critical information needs (CIN) studies, said the agency in a news release Friday (http://tinyurl.com/latnjcq). “The Commission will reassess the best way to fulfill its obligation to Congress to identify barriers to entry into the communications marketplace faced by entrepreneurs and other small businesses,” said an FCC “spokesperson” in the release. Commissioner Ajit Pai said he was “pleased” by the move. “In our country, the government does not tell the people what information they need,” Pai said in a separate statement (http://fcc.us/1mODcOh). “Instead, news outlets and the American public decide that for themselves.” The CIN had come under fire from Pai, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and Republicans on Capitol Hill, and the agency had said it was changing the studies, which Commissioner Mignon Clyburn defended (CD Feb 27 p3).