Satellite

Intelsat is seeking backers for a bankruptcy loan that would keep the satellite service in business under Chapter 11 court protection while it’s waiting for billions of dollars in proceeds from a government spectrum auction. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would allow Intelsat to address its $14 billion debt load as federal regulators head toward an auction of C-Band satellite spectrum. Intelsat needs to spend $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to prepare its spectrum for sale, and it could net up to $4.8 billion for handing over its C-Band by certain deadlines.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2020:

As we continue our important work directly related to COVID-19, the Federal Communications Commission will also continue our work confronting the longer-term challenges that have been highlighted by pandemic. In particular, at our upcoming meeting on April 23, we will be voting on major initiatives to expand wireless connectivity and further close the digital divide.

OneWeb, one of the companies looking to use constellations of satellites to provide competition to terrestrial and wireless broadband providers, has filed for bankruptcy and will try to sell the company.  OneWeb suggested it was on the verge of getting financing when the pandemic hit.

Local government officials are grappling with how to keep communications flowing for the millions of people who have retreated to their homes. “This is a true test of all of our connectivity, whether it's through a satellite provider, cable provider, cellphone provider,” said Rita Reynolds, the chief technology officer for the National Association of Counties. Her trade association is in the middle of assessing how local chief information officers and IT directors are processing the logistical challenges prompted by COVID-19.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is seeking to qualify for federal subsidies to provide broadband service to rural areas, over the objections of competitors who say its satellite-based technology is unproven.

AT&T is planning tens of billions of dollars worth of cost cuts, said AT&T President and COO John Stankey. Stankey also discussed the future of DirecTV satellite service, saying it won't be the primary TV option AT&T pitches to most customers going forward. For the company-wide cuts, AT&T management "has looked at effectively 10 broad initiatives that we believe can generate double digits of billions over a 3-year planning cycle," Stankey said.

Wall Street has become fascinated with a battle over 5G airwaves at the Federal Communications Commission — not because of the next-generation technology itself, but because of the potential investment wins. The spotlight has been brightest on Intelsat, which has about 

In the last quarter of every even numbered year, the Federal Communications Commission must publish a Communications Marketplace Report that, among other things, assesses the state of competition in the communications marketplace, including competition to deliver voice, video, audio, and data services among providers of telecommunications, providers of commercial mobile service, multichannel video programming distributors, broadcast stations, providers of satellite communications, Internet service providers, and other providers of communications services. In assessing the state of competiti

Less competition almost always means diminished service and higher prices. Telecom companies, seeing how the wind is blowing, are responding to the rise in streaming services by jacking up prices for broadband internet access. I get that pay-TV companies are sticking it to customers in part because their programming costs keep soaring. I also see how, from a purely business standpoint, if one part of your business is growing and another is declining, you increasingly rely on the growing part for profit.