A South African company may end up with the ICO Global’s international satellite and spectrum assests under a February agreement between the companies, ICO said in an SEC filing. The deal gives the South African company, Jay & Jayendra, an option to take over ICO’s medium earth orbit assets, the filing says. The agreement doesn’t include the North American satellite and spectrum rights, which are being sold to Dish Network by ICO’s bankrupt subsidiary DBSD. The spectrum rights are probably the most valuable piece of the purchase by Jay & Jayendra, said an analyst. The filing is at http://xrl.us/bitkwa.

LONDON -- Net neutrality can be considered a “First Amendment of the Internet,” on which limitations of free expression should be allowed only under very restricted circumstances, media and communications Professor Bart Cammaerts of the London School of Economics Media & Communications said Wednesday at the IIR Telecoms Regulation Forum. Operators shouldn’t be allowed to favor some kinds of content over others for commercial reasons, he said. Speakers generally supported allowing some traffic prioritization, but charging for it remains controversial.

Talks for new retransmission consent deals during blackouts of carriage may move more quickly when there’s little involvement from lawmakers and regulators, as shown by an eight-day dispute between Dish Network and LIN Media, broadcast executives said. The DBS provider resumed carrying 27 of the broadcaster’s stations in 17 markets March 13. The blackout didn’t last as long as a much higher profile dispute between Cablevision and News Corp.’s Fox network, which took almost twice as long to resolve. The lack of public involvement from the FCC or members of Congress, both more active on Cablevision-Fox, may have been among the reasons that Dish-LIN was resolved more quickly, said some broadcast industry officials.

AT&T’s T-Mobile deal raises the stakes for carriers seeking the 700 MHz D-block in a commercial auction, telecom industry officials and observers said Tuesday. AT&T and Verizon Wireless are the only carriers with nationwide 700 MHz holdings. The deal may bolster arguments to increase the spectrum assets of AT&T’s remaining competitors, but it may still be politically difficult for lawmakers to side against public safety, which wants the spectrum reallocated before this year’s 10th anniversary of 9/11, officials said.

Telcos aren’t directly threatened by a renewed challenge to the government’s warrantless wiretapping law, but companies could well find themselves in the middle of lawsuits yet to come, Center for Democracy and Technology Fellow Joshua Gruenspecht told us. On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals in New York reinstated a lawsuit from Amnesty International and other groups challenging the 2008 FISA Amendment Act. The law gave broad authority to the U.S. to intercept international communications to prevent terrorism. It also immunized from damages telcos that cooperated with warrantless wiretaps. The case that was reinstated by Monday’s decision likely won’t see trial, but the appellate judges left open the possibility that other lawsuits could follow it and telcos could find themselves dragged into that future litigation, Gruenspecht said.

Hughes Communications received an unsolicited bid for the company from an unidentified direct competitor soon after starting negotiations on a potential sale, Hughes said in a proxy statement filed at the SEC. Hughes signed a tentative agreement in February to sell the company to EchoStar for $2 billion.

ORLANDO -- Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse said competition could be harmed if AT&T is allowed to buy T-Mobile. Hesse commented Tuesday only under prodding by Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money, brought in by CTIA to host its annual CEO roundtable. “My opinion doesn’t matter,” but the opinions of the FCC and the Department of Justice do, Hesse said of the $39 billion deal. “Today, the big two,” AT&T and Verizon, “have about 67 percent market share, and if that transaction is allowed to proceed, it would be 79 market share in the hands of two just providers,” he said. “I do have concerns that it would stifle innovation.” Some in the audience applauded.

ORLANDO -- FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski offered no comment on AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, made public Sunday afternoon (CD Bulletin March 21), in a keynote speech Tuesday at CTIA’s annual meeting. Instead, he made a major pitch for incentive auctions and explained the importance of the data roaming order teed up for a vote at the April 7 FCC open meeting. “I know everyone here had been talking about the proposed transaction that was just announced,” Genachowski told a standing-room-only crowd. “Of course, you'll understand that I'm not going to comment on it.” He didn’t have time to take questions from reporters, an aide said.

EchoStar’s purchase of Hughes could lead to a policy shift by the second company on the Universal Service revamp because the acquiree has voiced different positions on the issue from the acquirer, FCC filings show. Hughes, which has previously said satellite broadband should be left out of the USF and Connect America fund, could change its position if EchoStar takes over. A united satellite broadband front would “be a big positive for the industry and provide a very strong response to the FCC” General Counsel Lisa Scalpone of WildBlue said in an interview.

Members of Congress won’t weigh in on Android application security concerns, which mobile security experts say is just as well. Lawmakers familiar with mobile security issues said they haven’t fully studied the topic and aren’t considering regulation of the Android Market. Android app security remains elusive, despite Amazon’s screening efforts for its new Appstore, security experts said.