The European Satellite Operators Association urged the FCC to reject a reconsideration petition from Utilities Telecom Council and Winchester Cator asking that utilities be allowed to use the 14.0-14.5 GHz band on a secondary basis for fixed point-to-point and point-to-multipoint services. ESOA said it supports other opposition filings from the Satellite Industry Association and EchoStar, it said in comments in RM-11429 (http://bit.ly/17yGb5r). ESOA agrees with the FCC’s finding that the petitioners’ proposal to mitigate interference “was an inadequate attempt to address the many serious interference issues raised by incumbent operators,” it said. It would be unfair to fixed satellite service providers to allow UTC-Winchester to operate in the vitally important Ku band, it said.

C Spire Business Solutions started a next-generation push-to-talk service targeting businesses, government agencies and service organizations, the company said in a Monday news release (http://bit.ly/11a1tFt). “For workers in industries like construction, public safety, local government and manufacturing, this service is needed on a variety of devices so they can get the performance and reliability they need to stay in touch on the job -- no matter what the circumstances,” said Craig Borncamp, director-business sales.

AT&T and Audiovox partnered to offer AT&T network connectivity through an embedded wireless HSPA modem to an Audiovox do-it-yourself, plug-in telematics and location-based service system. Audiovox’s On-Board Diagnostic system (OB-DII) device will work on all post-1996 model year vehicles, and it’s designed to help consumers monitor and manage vehicle status and safety via smartphone or tablet, the companies said. The system allows cellphone restriction while driving, vehicle tracking and a “lot spot” feature that helps drivers find their car in a parking lot using Google Maps. Additional features include automatic maintenance alerts and reminders, a fuel-consumption monitor and a driver scoring feature that can be used in driver training, the companies said. The system is a gateway to more security features including remote vehicle lock/unlock and remote start via add-on modules requiring professional installation. The advanced features can be managed through a smartphone app, they said. Audiovox said the addressable market for the aftermarket system is roughly 165 million cars. Audiovox plans to market the system through its nationwide distribution network. The companies didn’t give a timetable or cost structure, and weren’t available for comment.

Proposed FCC reform of the E-rate program will be “a positive development” for News Corp.’s digital education business, said Wells Fargo Securities analyst Eric Katz. The business, “Amplify,” will use customized tablets and specialized education software to create a new digital curriculum for students. “Although the business is clearly in a ramp-up phase,” Friday’s 3-0 FCC vote on an NPRM about potential expansion of E-rate (CD July 22 p1) “shows that there is a desire (at the Federal level) to accelerate a shift towards digital education,” Katz wrote investors Monday. He expects Amplify will ultimately garner a 10 percent share of the $17 billion target market.

NAB teamed up with the Society of Broadcast Engineers to present the Satellite Uplink Operators Training Workshop. It will be Sept. 30-Oct. 3, at NAB headquarters in Washington, said that association (http://bit.ly/1bX3yca). The event will provide instruction “on how to comply with FCC satellite regulations through formal training on the technical and operational practices that ensure safe, interference-free satellite transmissions for digital video and broadcast systems,” said NAB Monday.

The FCC still needs to do much more to speed broadband deployment in Indian country, ex-Commissioner Michael Copps told the National Native Media Conference on Saturday. “Here’s my take: what we lack is a sense of true national mission when it comes to broadband,” said the Democrat, according to a transcript of the speech in Tempe, Ariz. “This Administration understands broadband better than did its predecessor, no question about that. But its solutions and those of Congress still leave us far short of the goal. That may be understandable -- but it is not acceptable.” Copps said broadband stimulus grants “are fine, and they help,” but only went so far. “They don’t scale up to the magnitude of the problem,” he said. “Fixing Universal Service is essential, and the Commission is embarked on that, but relying just on Universal Service and very limited grant-making to bring broadband to every American is hoping for what will never be. What I am talking about cannot happen without scale, without investment, and without a genuine sense of mission.” Copps said it’s time to ask: “Where’s the broadband? Where’s the connectivity? Why aren’t we in the vanguard of nations in the broadband sweepstakes?” Copps also warned attendees they should care about media consolidation to guarantee their issues get solid, local coverage. “Already this year, media consolidation has surpassed $5 billion,” he said. “It is time, my friends, for the FCC to start saying ‘No!’ to this cascading consolidation. The pending Gannett-Belo consolidation is just the latest example. … Here’s a good place for the Commission to start getting serious about consolidation.” Copps questioned arguments by Gannett/Belo at the time the deal was unveiled last month (CD June 14 p7). “They say they are just sharing resources when, in reality, they are calling all the shots and making all the decisions for their so-called partners,” Copps said Saturday. “It’s no different than outright ownership. It makes a mockery of FCC rules and disserves the public interest. Why the FCC tolerates it is beyond me. And be warned: if the Gannet-Belo deal is approved, you will very likely see these things happening right here in Arizona, in both the Phoenix and Tucson media markets."

Aereo will expand its online streaming TV service to Utah in August, the company said in a press release Monday. Aereo’s system of tiny individual antennas paired with individual DVRs is already operating in New York, Boston and Atlanta, and will launch in Chicago Sept. 13, the release said. Channels that will be streamed include major network channels such as Fox affiliate KSTU-HD and NBC affiliate KSL-DT in Salt Lake City and special interest channels such as AntennaTV, Ion and BYU-TV. Utah residents who pre-register with Aereo will get access first, but Aereo said its service will be available to residents in all 29 counties in the state starting Aug. 19.

The FCC granted LightSquared an extension of a temporary experimental authority to use the bands 1670-1680 MHz and 400.15-406 MHz for mobile broadband services. The special temporary authority is to expire Oct. 1, the FCC said in the STA notice. The original STA expired Saturday (CD April 30 p7). The company said it still plans to deploy a terrestrial network, which has been which has been stalled since last year by an FCC proposal to rescind its ancillary terrestrial component license.

Expect to see an FCC item on inmate calling “in the next week or two weeks,” said Wireline Associate Bureau Chief Trent Harkrader Sunday at the NARUC meeting in Denver. He indicated what a priority the issue has been to acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. “There’s a lot we can learn from the states on that one,” he added.

CenturyLink had been planning for gigabit speeds in Omaha before Google Fiber came to the Kansas City area, said Vice President-Federal Legislative Affairs and Public Policy John Jones Sunday at a NARUC panel on such super-fast networks. The telco said earlier this year that it would bring the fiber to parts of Omaha. “We think Omaha is replicable,” he said, conditioning his statement on how what he calls the “trial” goes and how receptive municipalities are. “We can do that again. … Future deployments are going to hinge on [community support] for us.” CenturyLink “agonized internally” over how much it wanted or did not want from Omaha, and worried about a potential “tsunami” of expectations when or if CenturyLink would bring a gigabit to other territories, he added. The telco should publicize its Omaha work and engage with the community more, said Gig.U Executive Director Blair Levin on the same panel. It’s “great to see an incumbent player do that,” he said of CenturyLink, praising the potential of such networks. Municipalities should take a “progressive posture” on acquiring fast networks, said Fiber to the Home Council Americas President Heather Gold. Jones stressed the sustainability challenges for incumbents, which new entrants like Google Fiber and the municipal network of Longmont, Colo., may not face: “If they have no obligation to stay there, how long will they stay there if things go bad?” Google Associate Corporate Counsel Megan Anne Stull stressed that her company sees this as a business and is in it for the long haul. Vince Jordan, broadband services manager for Longmont Power & Communications, said his municipal network is going before city leaders Tuesday to push for an even broader rollout of its fast network throughout the city. He wants to pass every home and business there, he said. He compared the discussions to those surrounding electrification a hundred years ago, pointed out that the Longmont utility is in its 101st year and plans to stay involved in broadband “for at least another hundred years” and reassess then.