Row 44 Plans To Bolster In-flight Service via SES's AMC-1 Satellite

Looking to increase service to airline passengers over the Caribbean, North America and the Pacific, Row 44 seeks FCC International Bureau approval to modify its existing Ku-band Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft license to add a satellite -- AMC-1 at 129.15 degrees west -- as a point of communication. In its IB application filed Monday, the in-flight broadband and entertainment provider said it expects to start service on AMC-1 as soon as possible. SES, which operates AMC-1, hasn't signed a coordination agreement with SkyPerfect JSAT for that company's Horizons-1 -- the only other Ku-band fixed satellite service satellite operating in the same bands, Row 44 said. In a separate IB application filed Monday, Row 44 asked for temporary authority to start service on AMC-1 using up to 100 earth stations while the license modification is pending.