The State Department and the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security transferred items, including some satellites, from U.S. Munitions List (USML) Category XV (spacecraft systems and associated equipment) to the Commerce Control List (CCL) that no longer warrant USML control. BIS’ (here) and State’s (here) final rules build upon comments received after interim final rules were published May 13, 2014, and take effect Sunday, they said in Tuesday's Federal Register.

The deadline for comments on proposed updates to FCC Part 2 and Part 25 rules aimed at accommodating growing activity in the non-geostationary orbit sector is in 45 days, said a notice to be published in Wednesday's Federal Register, with replies due 75 days after publication. The FCC OK'd the NPRM on circulation in December (see 1612150066).

Hughes started system testing its high-capacity EchoStar XIX satellite now that it's in its permanent orbital slot at 97.1 degrees west, the company said in a media release Tuesday. The satellite will be the backbone of its forthcoming HughesNet Gen5 satellite internet service and provide coverage for much of North and Central America. EchoStar XIX launched Dec. 18 and is expected to begin operation by the end of Q1, Hughes said.

Gogo subsidiary AC BidCo wants to add three satellites -- Galaxy 28, SES-3 and Telesat T12V -- to its earth stations aboard aircraft license. In an FCC International Bureau filing Monday, AC BidCo also said it wanted to update its license to reflect that traffic that had been carried by the AMC-3 satellite had been transferred to AMC-6. AC BidCo said the Galaxy and Telesat satellites will provide coverage of Brazil, and the SES satellite will provide North America coverage.

New Skies Satellites' SES-10, licensed to operate at 67 degrees west, actually should operate at 66.9 degrees west, the company said in an FCC International Bureau filing asking for modification of its U.S. market access grant. New Skies also asked for expedited processing, citing rules granting such processing to any application asking for reassignment of a fixed satellite service satellite to a position of up to 0.15 degrees from its initially authorized spot.

Comments are due Feb. 21 on a European Commission request for a waiver of FCC licensing requirements to allow nonfederal, receive-only earth stations in the U.S. to operate with signals of the Galileo Radionavigation-Satellite Service (RNSS) system, said a public notice in Monday's Daily Digest. In the PN, the International Bureau said it agrees with the NTIA -- which backs the EC request -- that allowing use of Galileo signals would improve the availability, reliability and resiliency of space-based positioning, navigation and timing services. It said the EC request is particularly broad because it would let receivers operate with Galileo signals transmitted in multiple RNSS bands and thus sought input on such issues as U.S. and international spectrum allocations in affected bands, the possible effects of Galileo satellite signals on non-federal earth stations, and the compatibility of Galileo receivers and nonfederal transmission in RNSS bands and nearby bands. Replies in docket 17-16 are due March 23.

The first satellites in Iridium's Next constellation are now scheduled for launch Monday, the company said in a tweet Friday. That launch by SpaceX was initially scheduled for September and postponed by an explosion during a SpaceX preflight ignition test and subsequent investigation (see 1610270015).

SiriusXM added more than 1.7 million net subscribers in 2016, ending the year with more than 31.3 million subscribers and exceeding its 2016 guidance, the company said in a news release Thursday. It said it ended the year with close to 26 million self-pay subscriptions, netting 1.66 million self-pay subscriber additions. It said for 2017 it expects self-pay net subscriber additions of 1.3 million.

The traditional equitability test for issuing a statutory injunction doesn't apply in the issue of whether there should be a telemarketing sales rule (TSR) injunction against Dish Network, said the DOJ and FTC in a proposed responsive conclusions of law (in Pacer) for the second phase of the robocall violations trial, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Springfield, Illinois. DOJ/FTC said given the evidence Dish and its retailers repeatedly violated TSR for years, "future violations are not just likely; they are all but assured." The government said Dish claimed catastrophic private effects on its business from such an injunction (see 1604190004), but precedent indicates public equities -- which "favor a broad, strong injunction in this case" -- must receive more weight. DOJ/FTC said even if Dish were right in its assertions that civil penalties could take the place of injunctive relief, that also runs contrary to arguments the company has made against any civil penalties or injunctive relief. The mandatory injunction issue was bifurcated from the rest of the trial that ended Feb. 24 on robocall allegations brought by the federal government and California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio (see 0903260144).

Dish bowed its long-promised Dish Music service Tuesday, bringing Play-Fi multiroom audio capability to consumers with Hopper 2 and 3 DVRs and Joey clients, it announced. Play-Fi adds whole-home streaming of services including iHeartRadio, Pandora, Deezer, Napster, Tidal and Amazon Music, turning the Hopper into a household’s entertainment hub for music and video, said Dish. Hopper and Joey boxes deliver music to zones controllable by Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, plus apps on set-top boxes. Music can stream through TVs and can pair to speakers and components in the Play-Fi ecosystem from Aerix, Anthem, Arcam, Definitive Technology, Klipsch, MartinLogan, McIntosh, Paradigm, Phorus, Polk Audio, Rotel, Sonus Faber and Wren. Play-Fi products from Elite, Integra, Pioneer, Onkyo, SVS and Thiel are on the road map. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)-compatible, Dish Music will play music files from media servers and personal libraries on mobile devices. Dish Music is rolling out to customers, and the app will be available on all Hopper 2 and Hopper 3 DVRs next month, Dish said.