Spidersat, a subsidiary of ITC Global, plans to launch a high-performance network for Africa. The network will address increasing demand for multi-megabit satellite connectivity “to support unified communications in even the most remote areas,” ITC said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1cGIRBT). The network will leverage new satellite modem technology to deliver speeds of up to 60 Mbps, “with plans to upgrade performance to exceed 100 Mbps,” it said. ITC bought Spidersat last year, ITC said.

Level 3 Communications signed an agreement with Other Three Billion (O3b) Networks for a North American satellite gateway, said Level 3 in a press release (http://bit.ly/1727TXt). Level 3 providing transport services through a satellite gateway will allow O3b to link its gigabit IP network connectivity and bandwidth services to the U.S, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico region, said Level 3.

The FCC Consumer Advisory Committee resolved to reiterate its request that the FCC fix the problem of high prison phone call prices, according to a document posted Tuesday (http://bit.ly/155Cv7k). The prices should be reasonable, and prison providers should be compelled to “proportionally discount rates for TTY and relay calls since they take longer than voice conversations,” it said. The FCC should encourage inmates to use prepaid debit accounts, it said. The FCC is the proper agency to resolve the problems because it’s the only agency with jurisdiction over all calls, it resolved.

The 2013 filing deadline for Form 322 biennial broadcast ownership reports is extended by 30 days to Dec. 2, said a Media Bureau order released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/15FXjsi). “We believe it is in the public interest to provide additional time to ensure that all filers provide the Commission with accurate and reliable data,” said the order. Despite the extension, the bureau is still asking that the information on the forms be current as of Oct. 1, the same “as of” date that applied under the previous deadline, the order said.

Aero Networks applied for a second Community Connect grant of $800,000 to the Rural Utilities Service for Gerster, Mo., said its parent company Sanwire Corp. Tuesday in a press release (http://bit.ly/16xo0hC). The project would initially encompass advanced telecommunications and broadband services for Gerster, Wheatland and Weaubleau areas in St. Clair and Hickory Counties, Mo. The proposed service area would cover 78 square miles, said Sanwire. Aero wants to get final grant approval during the fourth quarter of 2013 with installation and deployment to start in the first quarter of 2014, said Sanwire. “As with our recently announced Gravois, Missouri project, the Gerster project will be structured as a public-private partnership with the goal of building sustainable broadband services for local communities,” said Aero President Rick Bjorklund.

Customers prefer consuming media and entertainment websites and apps on their mobile devices over personal computers, said ForeSee in a study released Tuesday (http://prn.to/13Dpp5C). On the study’s 100-point scale, user satisfaction with mobile media and entertainment sites and apps scored 77, while satisfaction with these websites on a PC scored 67, said ForeSee. The study found streaming media with the highest scores in the survey, with Apple’s iTunes scoring the highest of any measured company in the survey at 80. Netflix tied with HBO Go at 79, with Amazon Instant Video at 78 and Hulu Plus and Crackle at 75, the study found. Consumers were most satisfied with streaming content on their home Wi-Fi connection (78) and least satisfied with using streaming media on public Wi-Fi (73). Satisfied users of mobile news, sports and streaming TV and movie sites were 80 percent more likely to use the mobile channel as a primary resource, 72 percent more likely to give positive recommendations and 58 percent more likely to use the mobile channel again, the study found. ForeSee determined the index through a consumer panel of more than 5,500 surveys collected during the first half of June.

Any post-incentive auction band plan should preserve two reserve channels in UHF spectrum exclusively for wireless microphones, ESPN and Shure told aides to all three FCC commissioners and Wireless Bureau staff in a meeting last week, according to an ex parte filing Monday (http://bit.ly/1cGqKMf). “UHF spectrum remains irreplaceable, in particular to demanding professional wireless microphone users such as ESPN,” said the ex parte. “Technology advancements promoting efficiency and frequency reuse require clean spectrum,” the companies said. The commission should also improve wireless mic regulations and “align” VHF wireless microphone rules with service rules applicable to UHF microphones, said the ex parte.

Claims that there’s an “industry consensus” for a 600 MHz band plan are “premature,” said Dish Network representatives in a meeting Thursday with aides to acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, according to an ex parte filing Monday (http://bit.ly/1c7GOsF). Though AT&T and Verizon have both recommended a “Down from 51” band plan, Dish said the two companies’ plans have several differences, and the DBS provider favors a third choice, a “Down from 51 without Supplemental Downlink (SDL)” plan. Dish’s plan has “a common paired downlink and uplink block” which it said will motivate smaller carriers to participate in the incentive auction and “maximize the total revenue.” The “Down from 51 without SDL” plan would also give carriers more certainty in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) global standings setting process, Dish said. Paired uplink and downlink “facilitates the adoption of a common 3GPP band, resulting in better standards harmonization and economies of scale for handsets and other equipment,” Dish said. In the 700 MHz band, the commission shouldn’t change the authorized power levels for the lower 700 MHz E block as it adopts 700 MHz interoperability rules, Dish said. “Any changes to the service rules for the E-block post-auction will upset Dish’s legitimate, investment-backed expectations for use of this spectrum, jeopardize Dish’s investment and business plans, and may be considered an unauthorized partial revocation of Dish’s license,” said the company. It’s “unlikely” Dish will “meaningfully participate” in the H-block auction “given the current regulatory requirements for H block and AWS-4,” Dish said. Dish also said a recent commission proposal to designate the lower J block for uplink would make future operations there “vulnerable to significant interference from adjacent Federal government and Broadcast Auxiliary Service users above 2025 MHz."

The FCC has judged its rules largely appropriate and did not push for repeals and modifications. It released its 2012 biennial review of telecom regulations in a public notice Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1eq0t2I). The 19-page document outlines the determinations and recommendations of FCC offices and bureaus, as they are required to do by the Communications Act every two years, on any regulation that may be outdated. The commission received comments earlier in the year on whether regulations are out of date and addressed those points throughout the document. The review of regulations crosses many different bureaus of the FCC.

Increases in television ratings during episodes cause more people to tweet more often, said Nielsen in a study released Tuesday about the “two-way causal influence” between broadcast TV tune-in for a program and the Twitter conversation around that program (http://bit.ly/15F49hV). Nielsen’s Twitter Causation Study analyzed minute-to-minute trends in Nielsen’s Live TV Ratings and tweets for 221 broadcast primetime program episodes using Nielsen’s SocialGuide. Live TV ratings had a statistically significant impact in related tweets among 48 percent of episodes sampled, and the volume of tweets caused statistically significant changes in live TV ratings in 29 percent of the episodes, the study found. “Media companies and advertisers have already made investments in social media outreach as a means of engaging more directly with consumers, and we believe there are worthwhile opportunities for Nielsen to conduct additional research that can help quantify the relationship between television and social media activity,” said Nielsen Chief Research Officer Paul Donato.