Talks with Ligado about its plans for bands adjacent to global navigation satellite system (GNSS) spectrum led to Hexagon Positioning Intelligence developing technology to mitigate intentional or unintentional interference in the GNSS band, Hexagon President Michael Ritter said in a docket 11-109 filing posted Monday. He said independent of whatever Ligado plans, GPS device makers need to continually refine their devices and receivers to combat interference, and GPS receivers incorporating interference mitigation technology are more resilient against multiple sources of interference, including adjacent band operations and thus better serve the public. Hexagon is an OEM of positioning receivers, antennas and subsystems, according to its website.

SiriusXM plans to replace two satellites in its five-satellite satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) constellation over the next two years. In FCC International Bureau applications Monday (see here and here), the company said it hopes to launch SXM-7 in late 2019, becoming operational in early 2020, and to launch SXM-8 in mid-2020. SXM-7 would replace XM-3 at 85.15 degrees west, and SXM-8 would replace XM-4 at 115.25 degrees west. The satellite radio service wants authority to do in-orbit testing of each satellite at 120 degrees west before drifting them to their orbital slots. The satellites would also be equipped with a test beam payload with a coverage area outside the company's SDARS service area, with those payloads used to test new waveforms and ground user terminals. XM-3 and XM-4 would remain in their current orbital locations as spares until retired or relocated. The company's constellation also includes FM-5 at 86.15 degrees west, FM-6 at 116.15 degrees west and XM-5, an in-orbit spare at 85.15 degrees west.

Clearing 100 MHz of C-band spectrum will require modifications to the Intelsat and SES networks, and to their customers' networks, Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler said in an earnings call Tuesday. He said the modifications will include additional equipment at downlink earth stations, relocating some facilities or changes to the configurations of satellites. He said the company has been lobbying Capitol Hill on the C-band plan, and FCC representatives it's met showed an interest in the proposal. He said satellite has a big potential role in 5G deployment, given the time such services will take to reach remote or rural areas. He said capital expenditures should start tapering down as the company comes to the end of its Epic network deployment, with its Horizons 3e satellite to be launched later this year, and the upcoming replacement of this North American Galaxy satellites to be done by smaller, cheaper satellites. An NPRM on the satellite companies' midband plan is expected by some this summer (see 1804200003).

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology renewed SiriusXM's experimental license for testing new types of low-power terrestrial repeaters the company hopes will mitigate interference subscribers suffer due to wireless transmissions. The company said the interference comes from base stations operating on advanced wireless services spectrum and personal communications service spectrum and by operations in the adjacent wireless communications service band. It said the repeaters are in midtown Manhattan and New Jersey, it identified other AWS/PCS interference areas where testing should occur, and it's negotiating leases to install four more experimental repeaters at those sites in and around Manhattan. That testing is to start by year's end, the company said, saying leases are under negotiation for repeater testing in Los Angeles and San Francisco. SiriusXM said it expects to request authority to expand the geographic scope of its experimental license, and once testing is done it hopes to authorize nationwide, long-term use of terrestrial repeaters to be located near or at WCS, PCS and AWS transmitters that are or could be creating interference.

The FCC Media Bureau permanently invalidated a 2011 Philadelphia ordinance restricting placement of satellite dishes. A Wednesday declaratory ruling granted a 2012 petition by the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association. Philadelphia made the law for aesthetics, property values and safety, but the FCC said it’s prohibited by its over-the-air reception devices rule, which protects the ability of antenna users to install and use such devices to give more video choice for consumers. SBCA is “pleased that the FCC found that Philadelphia’s dish-placement restrictions were unreasonable” and would have made TV service more expensive, said President Steve Hill. “We hope that other city governments considering similar restrictions will take heed of the FCC’s decision.” Philadelphia is reviewing its legal options, a spokeswoman said.

The NFL Sunday Ticket has increased the number of televised NFL games, enhanced competition and helped create what even the antitrust complaint against the league and DirecTV admits is huge NFL viewership, said defendant appellees DirecTV and the NFL in a docket 17-56119 answering brief (in Pacer) filed Friday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They said the plaintiffs' challenge of the NFL/DirecTV distribution agreement and the NFL/individual teams' license agreement don't account for the Sports Broadcasting Act's protections exempting from antitrust scrutiny the NFL's licensing of its member teams' broadcast rights. The appellees also said it's well-established precedent that exclusive distributorships are presumed to be legal. They also said the existence of free over-the-air NFL broadcasts precludes exercise of market power. The appellants are challenging a lower court's dismissal last year of their complaint (see 1804020003). Appellant counsel didn't comment Monday.

ThinKom Solutions and Comsat jointly tested and validated continuous high-speed satellite communications in a moving vehicle under a range of conditions, they said Thursday. They said the 5,000-mile demonstration used a roof-mounted ThinKom phased-array satellite antenna on an SUV, while Comsat provided connectivity using commercial Ku-band satellites and terrestrial networks. They said the vehicle will be in Washington over the coming months for demos.

OneWeb wants FCC approval for nearly tripling its non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite constellation granted U.S. market access in June (see 1706220039) from 720 satellites to 1,980. The International Bureau application Monday follows a pending ask for FCC OK to amend V-band broadband constellation application from 1,280 satellites to 2,560 (see 1801050002). OneWeb said it's seeking the modification in light of relaxed milestone rules for NGSOs adopted in September (see 1709260035), leading it "to reassess what it can achieve under the newly expanded milestone timeframe." The company pointed to those new milestone rules when it asked in January for the V-band constellation changes. In the latest filing, OneWeb said the move to 1,980 satellites is "another logical step" in its business plans of global broadband connectivity by 2027. It said it has market approval for the Ka- and Ku-bands the constellation would employ, and the additional satellites wouldn't increase interference risk. OneWeb said the additional satellites give it more tools for protection from interference and service interruptions coming from in-line events involving other satellite operators. It said it and other NGSO operators already are "expending substantial effort" in good-faith coordination talks. Satellite experts predicted the September NGSO rules changes might lead to other amendments to applications (see 1801100044).

Andreessen Horowitz made its first space-related investment with Astranis Space Technologies. Andreessen partner Martin Casado blogged Thursday that the venture capital firm liked the broadband satellite company's proposed use of technology to provide high-bandwidth coverage using small geosynchronous satellites. Andreessen emailed us that its investment is $13.5 million.

Cumulative flat-panel satellite antenna equipment sales are expected to reach $7.9 billion by 2027, Northern Sky Research said Wednesday. It said aeronautical equipment will be the chief driver of manufacturers' revenue, but fixed broadband applications on non-geostationary orbit satellites will be the chief, long-term volume market. It said cost and performance traditionally have been the biggest hurdles to deployment, but in-flight connectivity demand and NGSO beam steering are driving improvements in ground equipment technology. It said once prices drop, flat panels will better compete with parabolic antennas, leading to more adoption of them for fixed applications.