SES Gibraltar is asking for authorization to use its to-be-launched SES-15 in the U.S. market. The Gibraltar-licensed satellite will be at 129.15 degrees west and will replace the Ku-band capacity currently provided by its U.S.-licensed AMC-1, SES said in an FCC International Bureau filing Tuesday. SES said it wants to use SES-15's Ku-band capacity for direct-to-home service in the U.S. It also said it wants to add the satellite to the permitted list for services in the conventional Ku-band, and to the Ka-band permitted list for services in the 18.3-18.8 GHz, 19.7-20.2 GHz, 28.35-28.6 GHz and 29.25-30 GHz bands. And SES said it wanted authorization for the satellite to offer fixed satellite service capacity in the U.S. in the extended Ku-band, the appendix 30B bands and the 27.5-28.35 GHz bands. SES-15 is expected to launch in 2017, SES said, saying the satellite will carry a Wide Area Augmentation System payload for use with the U.S. Global Positioning System, but it will ask for market access in a separate petition.

Pointing to Telstar 12 decommissioning sooner than expected, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is asking for special temporary authority (STA) to start using Telstar 12V as a point of communication. In an International Bureau filing Tuesday, CBN said it has a pending modification of its Form 312 before the FCC, seeking permanent authority to add Telstar 12V to its authorization, but decommissioning of Telstar 12 necessitates asking for an STA. Telstar 12's original decommissioning date of early February was moved up to Jan. 31, CBN said.

LightSquared continues to push the FCC to move on its request for reallocation for shared commercial use and for auction of 1675-1680 MHz spectrum, currently used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in docket 12-340, LightSquared said it met with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn aide Louis Peraertz to discuss LightSquared's use of that band for its proposed broadband network and its relinquishing of any terrestrial use of 1545-1555 MHz. LightSquared repeatedly has asked the FCC to put out a public notice by late spring on its coexistence agreements with GPS companies and license modification applications (see 1601140037). In an ex parte filing also posted Wednesday, Garmin said it also met with the FCC to discuss its settlement agreement with LightSquared.

The FTC failed to prove DirecTV customers don't see or understand the satellite company's disclosures of the terms of its premium channel offering because there's a lack of confused consumer testimony or any studies or research, DirecTV said in a reply filed Monday in federal court in support of its motion for partial summary judgment. The FTC sued DirecTV in 2015, alleging it wasn't properly communicating the early cancelation fees subscribers face if they sign up and then quit the service before two years (see 1503110042). A hearing on DirecTV's summary judgment motion is scheduled for Feb. 25 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, with a trial in the case scheduled for Dec. 5. "There is no dispute that DirecTV repeatedly disclosed the material terms -- just the FTC's argument that disclosures made in hyperlinks or info-hovers do not pass [Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act] muster," DirecTV said. "Contrary to what the FTC may urge now, there is no rule that advertising disclosures cannot be made by info-hovers or hyperlinks, as long as consumers see and understand those disclosures. The FTC offers zero evidence here that consumers do not -- and it was the FTC's burden to do so." The FTC didn't comment Wednesday.

ViaSat is launching a variety of Internet service plans for businesses under the Exede Business branch it started in 2014, it said in a news release Tuesday. The new offerings have up to 15 Mbps download and 4 Mbps upload speeds, the company said.

Airbus Defense and Space and OneWeb formed a joint venture, OneWeb Satellites, to design and build the 900 low-earth orbit satellites OneWeb needs for its planned global broadband constellation, they said in a news release Tuesday. Brian Holz, OneWeb vice president-satellite, launch and fleet operations, will be CEO of the equally owned joint venture, which will be able to build satellites and equipment marketed by Airbus to other operators of future constellations, the companies said. OneWeb Satellites' design work and the manufacture of the first 10 flight models will take place in Toulouse, France, they said, saying launches by Arianespace and Virgin Galactic are expected to start in 2018.

Honeywell Aerospace's JetWave wireless in-flight connectivity system received Federal Aviation Administration approval for use in Boeing 757s, the company said in a news release Thursday. JetWave connects to Inmarsat's Global Xpress constellation, Honeywell Aerospace said.

Safeguarding National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration geostationary operational environmental satellite rebroadcast (GRB) stations from interference would require "relatively small protection zones," LightSquared said in an FCC filing in docket 12-340. LightSquared has been pushing the FCC for reallocation and auction of a slice of NOAA spectrum and for conditions on its spectrum license that would let LightSquared share it for its terrestrial broadband network (see 1512310016). Wednesday's filing updated 2014 LightSquared submissions about NOAA's use of the 1675-1680 MHz band and the compatibility of commercial operations there, which showed the two could coexist by relocating some NOAA radiosondes and establishing defined protection and coordination zones, LightSquared said. But it said that study covered only NOAA's sensor data link in 1673.4-1678.6 MHz and not its GRB link at 1680.6-1692.6. LightSquared also again urged the FCC to issue a public notice on its NOAA spectrum idea (see 1601140037). NOAA didn't comment. In a separate ex parte filing in the docket Wednesday, the company recapped a meeting between CEO Doug Smith and board member Reed Hundt and FCC, NOAA, NTIA and Office of Management and Budget representatives about NOAA sharing 1675-1680 MHz. Some state and local governments and private entities use NOAA signals in or near the spectrum band, LightSquared said, saying it submitted a report to the FCC identifying alternative delivery mechanisms for those non-NOAA entities. LightSquared said the general consensus at the meeting was that the issue needing addressing "is not a matter of technology [but] a matter responsibility, logistics and funding -- issues that could be addressed by the Commission ... through service rules, license conditions and the auction process." An FCC notice-and-comment process would have to identify all use cases, if not necessarily all users, of the band, LightSquared said. In that report, also filed Wednesday, LightSquared said its investigation into non-NOAA users "was limited in scope because the universe of users was unknown." Some of those users include the Data Collection System/Data Collection Platform Report service where NOAA collects weather and environmental data from thousands of sensors around the U.S.; Emergency Managers Weather Information Network, which is used by state and local governments and public safety agencies to receive weather-related NOAA warnings; and geostationary operational environmental satellite variable/GRB, used by some private forecasting services and university research institutions for their forecasting models. Commercial operations wouldn't impinge on DCS/DCPR ability to upload data to NOAA, LightSquared said.

Allo Communications transferred control of a receive-only earth station to Nelnet as part of the education finance planning company's purchase of the Nebraska-based telecom company, Allo said in an FCC International Bureau notification Tuesday. Nelnet is acquiring 92.5 percent of Allo's equity and membership units, and it will become a direct subsidiary of Nelnet, Allo said. Allo said the takeover will give it "additional funding and resources that will help support the expansion of Allo’s fiber optic network in Nebraska."

SES and global content licensor Vivicast Media will launch a new 4K channel, UHD-1, for distribution through North American cable operators and telcos, the companies said in a Wednesday announcement. UHD-1 will be delivered over the SES-3 satellite, one of three satellites (SES-1, SES-3 and AMC-18) that make up SES's Ultra HD distribution infrastructure at the center “of the orbital arc over North America,” they said. UHD-1 is the fourth “unique” Ultra HD channel on SES's North American Ultra HD platform, after NASA TV UHD, Fashion One 4K and High 4K TV, SES said: "As consumers continue to add Ultra HD TVs into their homes, a robust channel offering is essential to meet their thirst for compelling high quality Ultra HD programming.”