Intelsat 33e, the second satellite in Intelsat's EpicNG high-throughput constellation, and Intelsat 36, launched Wednesday from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket, the company said on its website. Intelsat 33e will be at 60 degrees east and bring C- and Ku-band broadband capacity to parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the company said. Intelsat 36 will collocate with Intelsat 20 at 68.5 degrees east and focus on video content distribution in Africa and the Indian Ocean region, including supporting the South African direct-to-home MultiChoice platform, the company said.

While Live Mobile Group acquired Sure Shot Teleproductions' assets in October, it found there mistakenly was never a request for reassignment of Sure Shot's earth station licenses to Live Mobile, the mobile broadcast truck companies said in FCC International Bureau filings (here and here) Wednesday. In the application -- in which the companies requested both reassignment and special temporary authority to continue operations -- Live Mobile said it received "assurances from the (now former) employee of Sure Shot" that proper FCC filings had been made.

Space business consultancy Euroconsult purchased majority ownership of Southern Aerospace & Telecom Consulting (SATConsult), a consulting firm specializing in satellite infrastructure matters, Euroconsult said in a news release Wednesday. The buyer said it and SATConsult will operate as separate companies but work in concert on some projects.

Once it has full understanding of "the potential interaction" between Ligado's planned LTE network and certified avionics, the Federal Aviation Administration plans to share that information with the aviation community, the FAA emailed us Wednesday. Ligado this week laid out some details of the conversations it has been having with the regulator about the company's proposed broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) (see 1608230023), which would need FCC OK and is subject to a draft approval order there. The FAA said its interests also include the compatibility of the TLPS plan with uncertified GPS receivers used in aviation and that it's taking part in a Transportation Department initiative "to evaluate their susceptibility to interference." And the regulator said it's evaluating how TLPS might interact with aviation-centric satellite communications. Some aviation and aeronautics interests have voiced concerns about effects of its proposed LTE network on aviation GPS receivers (see 1608010036).

Ligado -- under fire from segments of the aviation and aeronautics industry worried about effects of its proposed LTE network on aviation GPS receivers (see 1608010036) -- agreed with some of their assertions. The company in a filing in FCC RM-11681 Tuesday said it had regular talks with Federal Aviation Administration staff about "performance-based conformance" conditions, such as the FAA and FCC requiring the company assess technical parameters of each base station before deployment to set power limits that would ensure conforming with FAA requirements. Ligado said the FAA is reviewing a Ligado-proposed model and compliance plan. The FAA didn't comment Tuesday. The company agreed with a process being pushed by the aviation industry that needs to be at least partially implemented before any granting of the firm's license modification or issuing of a related NPRM. Ligado said the conformance condition it's discussing with the FAA "is similar in many respects" to an aviation industry-backed three-step process outlined in an ex parte filing last week, which involves an FAA-headed theoretical investigation of possible Ligado interference to certified GPS receivers, field testing using real-world Ligado equipment, and deployment of Ligado's network -- with FAA- and FCC-imposed license conditions; rollout would be suspended if any interference issues manifest. At a meeting with Phil Verveer, aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, aviation groups complained Ligado didn't provide sufficient procedural and technical information, saying Ligado's push for approval should be shelved. Representatives of Aviation Spectrum Resources, Helicopter Association International, Airlines for America and the Aerospace Industries Association attended the meeting. They didn't comment Tuesday. The plan Ligado said it pitched to the FAA would have that agency -- with input from the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics -- OK a theoretical model the firm would use to predict signal propagation from proposed base stations. Field testing would follow to validate compliance of actual emissions with those modeled limits if the FAA and RTCA deem it necessary, to be followed by tower-by-tower assessment of the network deployment to ensure each base station follows power limits that would ensure received power from Ligado operations falls below FAA guidelines. Ligado said since it would have to satisfy all FCC conditions before bringing any part of terrestrial low-power service online, "there is therefore no reason to delay modifying Ligado's licenses subject to the conditions." The company said conditions suggested in its license modification application (see 1512310016) cover GPS interference protections, including some for certified aviation receivers. Those conditions would have the company reduce power in transmitters in the 1526-1536 MHz band to a level that would protect certified aviation receivers.

German pay-TV broadcaster Sky Deutschland will debut two exclusive Ultra HD sports channels this fall via SES’ Astra satellite at 19.2 degrees east, SES said in a Monday announcement. Sky Deutschland will show one soccer match daily in 4K from Germany’s Bundesliga football league on its Sky Sport Bundesliga UHD channel and selected games in 4K from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League on Sky Sport UHD, SES said. SES and Sky Deutschland representatives didn’t comment on whether the two channels have a fixed debut date or whether the Bundesliga and UEFA matches will be shown live in 4K.

Rovi and Dish Network signed a 10-year patent renewal license agreement that extends Dish's access to Rovi's Conversation Services natural language platform and other intellectual property, Rovi said in a news release Monday. Rovi said nine of the 10 largest U.S. pay TV operators have license agreements with it, with seven of those signed in the past seven quarters. It said the patent license renewal is subject to certain contingencies relating to the closing of Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo, which is expected to become effective Sept. 7. Dish also will give TiVo a release for past products and a going-forward covenant not to sue under Dish's existing patents during the 10-year license term, Rovi said in a SEC filing Monday. In exchange, Rovi said, TiVo will provide Dish some products during the 10-year span and also pay Dish $60 million over the next year.

Panasonic Avionics wants FCC approval to operate up to 1,000 single-panel antenna (SPA) broadband terminals on aircraft operating in U.S. airspace. In an International Bureau application Friday seeking to modify its existing earth stations aboard aircraft (ESAA) blanket license, Panasonic said the SPA terminal is a variation of the company's dual-panel Panasonic Phased Array (PPA) terminal that's part of its Ku-band eXConnect System and transmits in the same operational envelope, with the SPA terminals aimed at smaller aircraft than PPA terminals. The company also asked for a modification of its license to add the Telstar 12 Vantage as a point of communication for its SPA and PPA terminals. And it asked for removal of a condition on its license requiring Panasonic cease operations if a future non-geostationary fixed satellite service network starts operations until the company coordinates with that network operator or demonstrates Panasonic operations won't interfere. Panasonic said it sought the change since the FCC elevated ESAA networks to co-primary status in the 14-14.5 GHz band and because of previous commission precedent in removing a similar condition from an ESAA blanket license under similar circumstances.

Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command signed a $48 million contract with ViaSat for engineering, technical services, and hardware and software to support the Navy's joint ultra high frequency (UHF) military satellite communications system, ViaSat said in a news release Monday. It said it will help modernize the satcom network integrated control system, UHF satcom channel controllers and user terminals and in crypto design for next-generation UHF terminals

SES booked a total of 23,000 hours of capacity on four satellites for coverage of the Rio Olympics, the satellite operator said in a Thursday announcement. That's a “record uptake” compared with satellite coverage of previous Olympic events, SES said. SES satellite coverage is serving 10 broadcasters in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, it said.