News Archive
Hughes Works with Globalstar on Next-Gen Network -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, May 20 2008
Mobile satellite company Globalstar has partnered with Hughes Network Systems for what the companies called the next-generation of satellite communications services.
Specifically, Hughes will work with Globalstar to develop a proprietary satellite air interface and will deliver ground network equipment and software upgrades for installation at Globalstar's gateway ground stations.
Globalstar said it expects the ground network, combined with its second-generation satellite constellation scheduled for launch in the second-half of 2009, to provide the company with the ability to offer advanced wireless voice and high-speed IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services, as well as seamless handoffs to terrestrial networks using multi-mode user terminals.
News Corp. Defends Move to Exit DIRECTV Conditions -- Posted by soullezz
on Tuesday, May 20 2008
News Corp. had its say about conditions placed on its takeover of a controlling stake in DIRECTV in 2004 and efforts to eliminate the regulatory mandates tied to the transaction.
In a filing on the matter, News Corp. said that when the Federal Communications Commission placed conditions on its acquisition of a controlling stake in DIRECTV, the agency gave the media giant the right to petition for changes. Since then, News Corp. sold its interest in DIRECTV to Liberty Media, and Liberty Media divested its interest in News Corp.
Because of those moves, News Corp. pointed out that it's no longer vertically integrated with any pay-TV platform.
Conditions were placed on the News Corp./DIRECTV deal to ensure that pay-TV competitors had access to key News Corp. programming properties such as regional sports networks and broadcast stations. Entities like DISH Network and the American Cable Association have asked that the conditions remain in place to ensure access to must-have News Corp.-controlled content.
However, News Corp. said that given its divesture in DIRECTV, the balance of bargaining power has reverted to pre-transaction levels. "And any rationale for the arbitration condition that may have existed has been eliminated," the company said in its comments.
"Since an independent News Corp. has neither the incentive nor the ability to engage in the feared anticompetitive behavior that was thought to warrant the condition, the commission should eliminate it and permit News Corp. to resume bargaining for carriage of its regional sports and broadcast programming services in the competitive free market on the same footing as other independent video programmers and broadcasters," the company said in its comments.
Horowitz Departs SES AMERICOM -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 12 2008
SES AMERICOM President and CEO Edward D. Horowitz has resigned from the company to pursue opportunities with Global Entertainment and Media Holdings Corporation, the satellite services provider said.
Romain Bausch, SES chief executive and chairman of the SES AMERICOM Board, together with the members of the company's management committee, will continue to execute the company's business strategy until a successor is appointed, SES said.
Bausch said Horowitz was instrumental in the further integration of SES AMERICOM into the SES family and developing new market areas, such as IP-Prime. Because of that work, "The company is on track to grow in each of its market sectors, thus maintaining its industry leadership in North America," he said.
State AGs Press Sat Radio Concerns -- Posted by soullezz
on Monday, May 12 2008
State attorneys general and their staffs continued to push their concerns with the pending merger between XM and Sirius, telling one Federal Communications Commission official about what they called the need to maintain competition within the satellite radio business.
Attorneys general for Washington and Connecticut, along with staff for attorneys general in Florida Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Ohio, discussed the proposed combination of satellite radio companies last week with FCC's Jonathan Adelstein. In an agency filing describing the conversations, the state-level personnel said the XM/Sirius merger would contain "significant harms that would result from the loss of a direct competitor, such as diminished choice, reduced diversity of programming, and a lessening of innovation."
The state AGs also expressed concern with the lack of an interoperable receiver that can receive both satellite radio services.
And the attorneys general urged the FCC to condition any approval of the merger by requiring a combined satellite radio entity to provide a portion of capacity to another firm. And they asked for a set-aside of spectrum for non-commercial educational programming.
In that filing, the state officials said it was important to maintain "a diversity of programming in satellite radio." And they emphasized that permitting one satellite radio entity "to have financial and editorial control over the entirety of the spectrum allocated for satellite radio would necessarily limit viewpoint diversity and the dissemination of those views to the public."
The FCC remains the only regulatory hurdle for the satellite radio companies to combine operations. In March, the Justice Department's antitrust staff cleared the XM/Sirius merger.
Small Cable Chimes in on News Corp. Conditions Request -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, May 3 2008
Small cable interests had some opinions on News Corp.'s effort to escape conditions placed on its DIRECTV acquisition in 2003, provisions that involve pay-TV competitor access to programming controlled by the media giant.
News Corp. has approached the Federal Communications Commission about the conditions tied to its deal for the satellite TV service. The company sold its controlling stake in DIRECTV to Liberty Media earlier in the year. And it has told the commission that it should no longer be tied to conditions that were part of its 2003 transaction.
The conditions are set to expire in 2010.
In its filing on the matter, the American Cable Association, which represents small, independent cable operators, said a granting of the News Corp. petition would erode the benefits gained from the conditions. The association said the conditions have protected competition by allowing for pay-TV company access to "must have" programming.
Also, the conditions have not resulted in any appreciable harm to News Corp., ACA said in its comments filed Thursday.
"News Corp's efforts to change the rules long after the game has started is certainly unreasonable," Matt Polka, ACA president and CEO, said in a statement. "But its attempts to deceive the commission and suppress their true intent to skirt the conditions of the previous order is unforgivable."
Dingell, Markey Call for Conditions on Sat Radio Merger -- Posted by soullezz
on Saturday, May 3 2008
More lawmakers wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin about the proposed merger between XM and Sirius, calling for conditions on the deal before any green light is given to the companies to combine operations.
A letter written by John Dingell, the Michigan Democrat and chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts, chair of the House Telecom Subcommittee, made no suggestions one way or another about their feelings on the pending satellite radio combination. "We are not taking a position at this time on whether the commission should approve the merger," they said.
Instead, "If the commission decides to approve the license transfer, we believe the public interest requires it to take concrete steps to protect consumers," stated the letter sent this week to Martin.
Both Dingell and Markey said the FCC should require a merged satellite radio entity to adhere to pricing constraints that XM and Sirius have proposed to regulators. "Such a condition would ensure that a combined entity does not take advantage of consumers by leveraging its position as sole provider of satellite radio services by raising prices," stated the letter.
Also, the lawmakers said the FCC should force a combined entity to incorporate other digital audio technology into their receivers, including HD Radio capabilities or an iPod port.
The FCC remains the only regulatory hurdle for the satellite radio companies to combine operations. In March, the Justice Department's antitrust staff cleared the merger.
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