Intelsat hopes to launch its 37e satellite, part of its Epic high-throughput satellite constellation, in Q3 2017, the company said in an FCC International Bureau application Thursday. Intelsat 37e would operate at 18 degrees west, replacing Intelsat 901 currently operating there, the company said. Intelsat said that along with the frequencies 901 operates in now, 37e also would operate in 3400-3625 MHz, 6425-6650 MHz, 11200-11450 MHz, 11700-11950 MHz, 12500-12750 MHz, 1300-13250 MHz, 13750-14000 MHz, 18300-18800 MHz, 19700-20200 MHz, 28350-28850 MHz and 29250-30000 MHz. Since the 3400-3600 MHz and 12500-12700 MHz bands aren't allocated for fixed satellite service geostationary satellite orbit operations in the U.S, 37e won't operate in these frequencies in the U.S., it said.

Between 2006 and 2015, 163 earth observation satellites larger than 50 kilograms launched worldwide for civil and commercial Earth observation, with another 419 such launches expected over the next decade, Euroconsult said in a news release Thursday. Canada Managing Director Adam Keith said those numbers don't include satellites smaller than 50 kilograms, such as Planet and Spire constellations. He also said there will be downward price pressure as supply increases faster than demand for commercial data and services. Euroconsult said defense will drive growth in the short term given regional unrest "and the limited ability of countries to operate capable image intelligence systems being the main driving factors," but longer-term growth will come from such applications as maritime, infrastructure and resources monitoring.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division is bringing new Wi-Fi service plans to the 174-mile Piedmont line between Raleigh and Charlotte through a deal with ViaSat, ViaSat said in a news release Thursday. The service has three levels: a 30-minute bronze plan included in the ticket purchase, and more robust silver and gold plans with higher speeds and more streaming media options.

Revised Part 25 rules for satellite services take effect Monday, the FCC International Bureau said in a public notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The overhaul was adopted in December (see 1512170036). It comes with some changes in filing procedures, including use of the web-based Schedule S form becoming mandatory Monday, pro forma assignments or transfers of control of licenses held by telco carriers no longer requiring prior approval, and pro forma assignments or transfers of control by entities that aren't telco carriers being deemed granted one business day after filing as long as the applicant fills out the proper certifications. Notifications of pro forma transfer of control of a receive-only earth station are no longer required, and the bureau will begin accepting applications under the optional two-part licensing process for first-step applications and applications of "non-routine" transmissions starting at 2 p.m. Monday.

With four Terra Bella Technologies commercial remote-sensing satellites scheduled for launch Thursday, the company received FCC International Bureau OK for short-term modification of the telemetry downlink frequencies to be used while they're brought into service after launch. The bureau Wednesday approved the request to use 8374.5, 8374.75, 8375.25 and 8375.5 MHz for telemetry transmissions until routine communications links with SkySat-4, SkySat-5, SkySat-6 and SkySat-7 are established -- a period of perhaps two weeks, Terra Bella said. The bureau in August approved the former Skybox Imaging's application for authorization to operate a non-geostationary orbit earth exploration satellite service system with the launch of 13 additional satellites atop SkySat-1 and SkySat-2, already in orbit.

Comcast's NBCUniversal reached a long-term carriage pact with AT&T and the telco-TV provider's DirecTV, extending and expanding an existing deal, the companies said Tuesday. "DIRECTV and U-Verse customers will continue to have access to NBCUniversal broadcast and cable networks live and on-demand through linear TV, online, and TV Everywhere apps." The DBS provider also can pick major sporting events in 4K Ultra HD, under the deal, which includes streaming service DirecTV Now, which AT&T plans to launch in Q4.

A National Advertising Review Board (NARB) panel wants AT&T's DirecTV to “better disclose” to consumers that only limited programming on its service is available in 4K, the Council of Better Business Bureaus-affiliated group said in a Tuesday announcement. NARB also wants DirecTV to modify its claim the service is wireless, and to discontinue claims that a “free upgrade” to Genie HD DVRs is available, the announcement said. The council’s National Advertising Division (NAD) ruled in December that DirecTV should change or end advertising claims challenged by Charter Communications about prices and wireless offerings and what Charter termed the misleading suggestion that all DirecTV programming is available in 4K resolution. DirecTV appealed the decision to NARB (see 1512100053), whose panel sided with NAD that DirecTV’s claims on the amount of 4K content on the service “reasonably communicated messages that were not supported by the evidence in the record.” But the panel disagreed with NAD that DirecTV must modify its claims by addressing “the developing nature of 4K technology and indicate that currently only a small amount of programming is available in 4K.” The panel said “reasonable consumers” will understand “the nature of developing technologies and the fact that 4K is a relatively new technology,” and “it would be sufficient for DirecTV to clearly and conspicuously disclose the limited programming available in 4K.” DirecTV representatives didn’t comment Tuesday. The council quoted the satellite operator as saying it will “comply with NARB's recommendations in future advertising,” though it disagrees with NARB’s findings that it modify its claims that the service is wireless, and will discontinue claims that a “free upgrade” to Genie HD DVRs was available.

SES is using the IBC show in Amsterdam to broadcast three demos of Ultra HD with high dynamic range, it said in a Friday announcement. One demo will showcase an Ultra HD test channel with HDR content produced by LG Electronics, SES said. The content will be encoded in the BBC-NHK hybrid-log-gamma (HLG) format and beamed to a 65-inch LG OLED TV, it said. A second demo will showcase two sets of Ultra HD content in HDR -- produced by Samsung and SES and also encoded in HLG -- displayed on a 75-inch Samsung SUHD TV, it said. The third demo will showcase the Technicolor/Philips HDR format technology on a 65-inch LG OLED TV connected to a Technicolor set-top, it said: “Working with major industry players is crucial to continue refining new TV developments and bringing a higher level of viewing experience to consumer homes.” IBC's exhibition floor opened Friday for five days.

Ligado is discussing with the Federal Aviation Administration how it anticipates individually assessing each proposed base station before deployment to determine the power limits needed to ensure it meets FAA requirements for protecting certified aviation GPS receivers, the company said in an FCC ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 11-109. It recapped a meeting between Ligado board member/ex-FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and Wireless and International bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff to update the FCC on the talks with the FAA. The company pledged its operations always will defer to FAA requirements for protecting aviation receivers, and said it proposed in its FAA discussions using a "standoff cylinder" for base station assessment of a 250-foot horizontal radius from the base station and extending to 30 feet above the station's antenna, and that it would use an FAA-approved model for calculating power limits needed to ensure all received power at or beyond that standoff cylinder is below the agency's interference threshold. That model also would include procedures for assessing aggregate effects of the base station and other Ligado base stations nearby, it said. Ligado said the base station power limit would be set by "worst-case performance" calculated under the model. The company said it also discussed with the FCC its proposed business plan, which would focus on connectivity for mission-critical IoT applications and 5G rather than the 4G coverage plans its predecessor company, LightSquared, had. Ligado said it expects its ground-based network could include 10,000 to 20,000 base stations, fewer than half anticipated by LightSquared, with many of them being micro sites operating at reduced power.

British telco Arqiva extended its agreement with Intelsat for multiple years for Intelsat 20 and Intelsat 34 to distribute sports content to the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific region, Intelsat said in a news release Friday.