DirecTV and Dish Network continued to urge the FCC not to amend its schedule of regulatory fees to treat direct broadcast satellite operators like cable operators. The FCC lacks legal authority to engage in such a permitted amendment under the Communications Act, “and cannot justify such action under the Administrative Procedure Act,” the satellite TV companies said in an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 14-92 (http://bit.ly/1nbcDoc). DBS operators have never generated, “and do not generate now, anything approaching the regulatory costs that cable operators do,” they said. Adopting such a proposal “would raise any other number of logistical and implementation concerns, none of which have been sufficiently considered,” they said.

Globalstar again said Iridium presents no justification for revisiting the FCC 2007 decision allocating the lower big low earth orbit (LEO) band between Iridium and Globalstar. Iridium seeks the very frequencies that Globalstar’s customers rely on every day to request life-saving rescues around the world, Globalstar said in an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 13-213 (http://bit.ly/1rnyQ5B). The FCC should reject Iridium’s petition, it said. It referred to Iridium’s latest filing that urged the commission to adopt its petition in light of Globalstar’s proposed terrestrial low-power broadband service, which would “eliminate nearly any obligation for Globalstar to provide Big LEO satellite services and would seem to contemplate nationwide exclusion zones for Globalstar’s two-way satellite services,” (http://bit.ly/1tfbbSO). Globalstar’s filing pertained to a meeting with staff from the offices of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly.

Harbinger Capital Partners, the largest investor of LightSquared, filed a complaint Friday against the U.S. government for allegedly breaching its contractual commitment to permit Harbinger to build out, deploy and operate a mobile broadband network using LightSquared’s spectrum. The U.S. “has taken Harbinger’s property without just compensation,” Harbinger said in its complaint filed in with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The FCC proposed to revoke LightSquared’s conditional waiver to provide a terrestrial network in 2012. Although the FCC conditionally approved LightSquared’s technical waiver application for terrestrial-only handsets in 2011, it “halted deployment of Harbinger’s nationwide mobile broadband network by requiring LightSquared for the first time to address and resolve the GPS industry’s belatedly raised receiver overload concern,” it said. The FCC fully understood that the GPS receiver overload problem was “an inexorable consequence of the very thing the United States had made a contractual condition in its negotiations with Harbinger -- a national, mobile broadband network operating using LightSquared’s spectrum,” Harbinger said. As a result of the government’s actions, LightSquared wasn’t able to renew financing, lost contracting partners and eventually was rendered unable to continue operating, it said. Harbinger requests its full and reasonable damages and just compensation “in an amount to be proven at trial,” it said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed Spectrum Five’s request for review of an FCC order giving EchoStar temporary authority to move a satellite from its location at 76.8 degrees W.L. orbital location to the 96.2 degrees W.L. orbital location desired by Bermuda for a satellite it was requesting International Telecommunication Union permission to operate. The Netherlands, which had contracted with Spectrum Five for satellite operations, was seeking ITU permission to operate a satellite nearby at 95.15 degrees W.L., meaning it would have been interfering with the Bermuda satellite’s operations if it had secured ITU permission first. The court ruled Friday that Spectrum Five didn’t have standing to seek a review of the order because it “failed to demonstrate a significant likelihood that a decision of this Court would redress its alleged injury” (http://1.usa.gov/1zupW8z).

Globecomm said its new global mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services -- targeted at business-to-business-focused (B2B) MVNOs, enterprises and government organizations -- will “provide these companies with new sources of revenue while reducing their costs and shortening time to market.” Globecomm said it’s handling all of the new MVNO services through its existing infrastructure and its MBOX platform. “B2B MVNO services are a natural extension of Globecomm’s business,” said Andy Silberstein, Globecomm senior vice president, in a Thursday news release (http://bit.ly/1zsduGk).

Harbinger Capital Partners filed suit against Dish Network and CEO Charlie Ergen Tuesday, continuing a long-standing battle between the companies for control of LightSquared. Harbinger’s lawsuit also targets Sound Point Capital Management. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, seeks $1.5 billion in damages over claims Dish and Ergen had used “an illegal scheme involving mail and wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, tortious interference, and abuse of process” to wrest control of LightSquared from Harbinger. The actions violated federal anti-racketeering law and a Colorado organized crime law, Harbinger said. LightSquared founder Phil Falcone, who’s also Harbinger’s senior managing director, resigned from the LightSquared board in June, as did four other Harbinger-appointed board members (CD June 20 p15). Dish had previously offered $2.2 billion for LightSquared but withdrew that bid in January amid a trial in New York federal bankruptcy court in which Harbinger claimed Dish fraudulently became LightSquared’s largest creditor (CD Jan 10 p7). Dish’s bid was never genuine and was an attempt “to displace Harbinger and thereby force a distressed liquidation in which [Ergen] could obtain the assets at an even greater discount,” Harbinger said in the lawsuit. A Harbinger spokesman confirmed the hedge fund had filed the lawsuit but had no further comment. Dish had no immediate comment.

Globalstar continued to urge the FCC to approve its proposal to use some of its mobile satellite services spectrum to provide a terrestrial low-power service. Doing so would quickly add 22 MHz to the wireless broadband spectrum inventory and ease congestion “that is diminishing the quality of Wi-Fi service at high-traffic 802.11 hotspots and other locations,” it said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 13-213 (http://bit.ly/1vC6S3H). With the comment cycle complete, the commission should move forward expeditiously with an order, it said. The reply comment cycle ended last month (CD June 10 p8).

NTIA urged the FCC to consider issues raised by the Department of Transportation on LightSquared’s proposals for operation in the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz band. NTIA included a 2013 letter from DOT into docket 11-109, which was posted in FCC docket 12-340 Wednesday. The letter expresses DOT’s continuing concerns about LightSquared’s proposal, NTIA said (http://bit.ly/TDCxFj). DOT urged the FCC and NTIA to ensure that the proposals are adequately supported by data. DOT also urged the other agencies not to support or approve any such proposal “without a full understanding of the potential impacts."

The concurrent final rules on transferring items from U.S. Munitions List category XI to the Commerce Control List include revisions for satellite systems. The Commerce and State departments released the final rules on the transfer of dual-use items Monday (CD July 1 p12). Most of the rules are effective Dec. 30, the departments said Tuesday in Federal Register notices (http://1.usa.gov/1z5Fakc; http://1.usa.gov/1lwGfaz). Revisions include one made to control antennas that employ four or more elements, electronically steer angular beams and achieve a beam switching speed faster than 50 milliseconds. That came in response to commenters who indicated the previous rule was written in a way that would control items like antennas designed for transmitting radio communications via a commercially operated fixed or mobile satellite service system, which is already controlled by an export control classification number, the State Department notice said. The final rules were released as part of previously disclosed export control overhaul (CD May 13 p12).

The Commerce and State departments released concurrent final rules to transfer dual-use items from U.S. Munitions List category XI to the Commerce Control List as part of previously disclosed export control reform (CD May 13 p12). The rules are effective Dec. 30, aside from minor changes that take effect upon publication in the Federal Register, said notices from Commerce (http://1.usa.gov/1mBtEmA) and State (http://1.usa.gov/Txd9Rw) appearing in Tuesday’s Federal Register.