Satellite

Potential deals between 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney (or Comcast), Viamcom and CBS, and AT&T and Time Warner have producers wondering just who the TV programming honchos will be. New ownership or management could lead to changes in programming strategy, determining which shows get renewed or canceled, where they fall on the schedule, and what kind of resources and marketing budget they get. The uncertainty adds to the other challenges facing the industry including competition for talent and viewers from deep-pocketed streaming services.

There's some evidence that Facebook formed a subsidiary satellite company called “PointView” on the down low (the companies seem to share a number of assets, including staff and land).

The Federal Communications Commission has signaled the next spectrum band it is seriously eyeing to free up for advanced telecommunications. The Wireless Telecommunications, International, Public Safety and Homeland Security bureaus said April 19 that it was instituting a temporary freeze on applications for new or modified fixed satellite service earth stations and fixed microwave stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz spectrum bands (C-band) to "preserve the current landscape" as it looks into possibly allowing mobile broadband and more "intensive" fixed use.

The Federal Communications Commission started to streamline the application process for a category of satellites known as “small satellites.” The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes a new authorization process within Part 25 of the Commission’s rules to govern satellite licensing that is tailored to small satellite operations. This new process will address current needs in this evolving industry sector, as existing Commission licensing rules and processes were not developed with these types of systems in mind.

Steve McCloud’s farm is in a black hole on the Kansas prairie. On the map, the Harvey County farm is connected to the superhighway of information that has become a necessity in today’s society. But travel down the dirt road to his farmstead just 4 miles north of Newton and a different reality emerges. The McClouds have slow and somewhat sporadic access to the World Wide Web. A mile to the north Moundridge Communications is running new fiber. But the small-town telephone company can’t help him because he is not in its territory.

There are two general approaches to expanding access to high-speed broadband in small towns and rural areas: with wires (fiber) and without (fixed wireless). Because trenching fiber is very costly in low-density areas, there is a growing recognition that “wireless fiber”–otherwise known as fixed wireless access–can provide broadband at high capacity (100/10 Mbps or better) at a fraction of the cost and also far more quickly.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Tuesday, April 17, 2018:

We're now almost four weeks into AT&T's historic court battle with the government over its $85 billion merger with Time Warner. Here's an overview of the major themes emerging in this pivotal case that could shape the future of connectivity, entertainment and corporate consolidation:

The Federal Communications Commission approved an application by Space Exploration Holdings, doing business as SpaceX, to provide broadband services using satellite technology in the United States and around the world. SpaceX proposed a satellite system comprised of 4,425 satellites and was granted authority to use frequencies in the Ka (20/30 GHz) and Ku (11/14 GHz) bands to provide global Internet connectivity. The Memorandum Opinion, Order and Authorization outlines the conditions under which SpaceX is authorized to provide service using its proposed NGSO FSS satellite constellation.