The FCC issued a notice of inquiry and is seeking comment on whether incumbent satellite operators are operating in ways that inhibit competition. The commission seeks information on whether fixed satellite service providers that have vertically integrated are engaging in vertical foreclosure “or other conduct that has harmed consumers of satellite communication services,” it said in the NOI (http://bit.ly/16Q5q6T). The NOI stemmed from allegations among some satellite operators in the 11th Open Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications Act report that Intelsat has become vertically integrated and is stifling competition from its former resellers (CD May 9 p3). The FCC said it wants commenters to help it address gaps in service, older replacement satellites, license extensions, and underutilized satellites. For commenters claiming that harmful foreclosure has occurred, commenters should detail factors like “the time period the allegations cover, the geographic routes involved, and the amount and type of space segment capacity involved,” it said. The questions are aimed at figuring out how to strike a balance “between a satellite operator’s need for flexibility in managing its fleet of space stations and the public interest benefits of protecting against warehousing,” it said. Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, with replies due 60 days after that date. The FCC also released Friday its 14th ORBIT Act report to Congress. Inmarsat’s privatization appears to have had a positive impact on the domestic market, the report said (http://fcc.us/13qxHMw). Inmarsat said it continues to introduce new services and to invest in new technologies for mobile satellite service customers, the report said. Intelsat’s privatization allowed it to compete freely for U.S. satellite business opportunities, “led to more competitive choices in the U.S. market than existed before privatization,” and encourages development of service offerings, it said. The FCC said it plans to inform Congress of the impact of the actions addressed in the NOI in its next ORBIT Act report.

New data show three states are making strides toward increasing broadband access. Texas, Minnesota and Iowa show promising results, according to reports released last week from their state-specific Connected Nation organizations. Minnesota is closer to its state-prescribed broadband access goal of 10 Mbps download/6 Mbps upload fixed broadband speeds for the entire state by 2015. The state is now at 69.19 percent access, Connect Minnesota said (http://bit.ly/11xqv11). Minnesota announced “95.80% of ... households can access fixed broadband at speeds of at least 3 Mbps download/768 Kbps upload -- the speed threshold used by the FCC in making Connect America Fund determinations; if mobile is included, 99.67% of households have access at this speed tier.” Connected Texas highlighted the “significant” bump in the availability of 768 kbps/200 kbps fixed wireless broadband over the last six months -- from 69.1 percent last October to 80.68 percent now (http://bit.ly/15TkBIz). The organization attributed the rise to “several factors including network expansion (installation of additional towers), increased provider participation, and field validations that led to data inclusion for several non-participating providers.” Connected Texas Executive Director Don Shirley pointed out in a statement that the state still needs “access to much higher speeds in place across the state,” the data showing that 34.16 percent of Texas households have access to service of at least 100 Mbps down/1.5 Mbps up and no households have access to gigabit speeds. Connect Iowa showcased a rise in available speeds throughout the urban and rural parts of the state. “In fact, 6.37% more households have access to broadband service of 10 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload (including mobile wireless) now than just six months ago,” it said (http://bit.ly/11Kail4), a number that’s now 90 percent of households. In Iowa, only 3.93 percent of households have access to 100 Mbps down/1.5 Mbps up, not counting mobile and satellite services.

AT&T said it expects subscribers will add a net 500,000 devices to contract-based plans during Q2, which ends June 30. AT&T said Thursday it also expects to end Q2 with stronger U-verse broadband and TV subscriber adds than a year ago. Despite that, the company said it still expects its 2013 revenue to only rise by 2 percent. AT&T is expected to release its full Q2 results July 23 (http://soc.att.com/15H4rRV). AT&T executives told investors Thursday the company is “very interested” in possible acquisitions in Europe, where it sees mobile broadband as still being in the early stages of development, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said in an email to investors. AT&T would like to participate in that growth; while executives are concerned about regulatory hurdles in Europe, the biggest issue remains finding the right assets, Fritzsche said.

Spending time on the Internet significantly reduces depression in seniors, the Phoenix Center said in a report released Friday (http://pwc.to/ZO5QaL). The study found a 34 percent reduction in depression in older Americans, a slightly larger reduction than the 20-28 percent reduction in its 2009 study. The report advocates expanding programs that provide Internet access to senior citizens in an effort to decrease the $100 billion spent in the U.S. each year to treat depression. “The positive mental health consequences of Internet use demonstrate, in part, the value of demand stimulus programs aimed at older Americans, and such benefits should part of a more thorough cost-benefit analysis of such efforts,” said study author George Ford. The report expanded its findings from 2009 by expanding the dataset and applying statistical methods.

As Tropical Storm Andrea neared the East Coast Friday, several communications companies said they were preparing. AT&T triggered what it called its “storm preparedness process” and “topped off fuel at generators positioned at cell sites, installed and tested high-capacity back-up batteries at cell sites, installed ‘Quick Connect Generator Plugs'” at many of them and made sure to include other emergency equipment at certain locations, with a focus on Florida, the telco said (http://soc.att.com/ZVEK1n). AT&T “may have some outages,” it said. Verizon Wireless described its preparations in South and North Carolina, with teams at the ready as well as infrastructure such as cell on wheels, cell on light trucks and generators on trailers (http://yhoo.it/18TEz7a). It promised real-time monitoring of the network and said it remains confident in its system. Comcast activated its emergency procedures in the Panhandle region and was planning to deploy teams to assess the service “within hours of the storm’s passage,” the company said (http://bit.ly/12wtTfS). Before the storm, Comcast was focused on staging workers and equipment where potentially needed and arranging for backup generators and sister call centers, it said.

The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) said Friday it’s “extremely disappointed” that the FCC has approved Progeny’s E-911 locator service for commercial use on the 902-928 MHz band (http://bit.ly/18bGW8G). The agency released an order Thursday approving the service, with some conditions related to opponents’ concerns about possible interference (CD June 7 p3). WISPA said it believes the FCC “neglected compelling evidence in the record showing the extremely harmful effects that Progeny’s operations would cause to broadband and other services.” WISPA was able to get Progeny to commit to work with wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) in rural markets to minimize possible interference -- one of the conditions included in the FCC order. “Though we take some solace in Progeny’s commitment to work with rural WISPs, we have a hard time understanding why the FCC concluded that a 50 percent loss in throughput is not unacceptable and why it would not want to develop the record further to determine whether other devices would suffer interference,” said WISPA President Elizabeth Bowles in a news release.

Globecomm seeks to add a new 4.8 meter Ku-band transmit/receive earth station to its E070227 license. The proposed earth station would be in Hauppauge, N.Y., it said in its application to the FCC International Bureau (http://bit.ly/13LgKeL). It would operate in the extended frequency band of 13.75-14.0 GHz “with the Hispasat 1C satellite as well as with those applicable satellites in the international and domestic Ku-band spectrums,” it said.

While “the FCC remains optimistic that the spectrum incentive auction will materialize in 2014,” broadcasters that an industry analyst spoke with “believe a more realistic timeframe is 2015/2016,” she wrote investors Friday. Some concerns from broadcasters include the repacking of channels after the auction, “Mexican and Canadian border issues, the uncertainty around final spectrum proceeds, and the overall complexity of the entire auction process (at least as it stands today),” wrote Marci Ryvicker of Wells Fargo. Uncertainty among broadcasters may dampen their interest in participating in the reverse auction, leaving less spectrum cleared to be sold to carriers (CD June 4 p4). Meanwhile, “TV M&A market remains HOT!” wrote Ryvicker of mergers and acquisitions, with as much as $8 billion of TV assets for sale or likely to go on the block in the next year or two. “While retrans is still a big driver of synergies, there is more focus on efficiencies from both a cost perspective and duopolies,” she wrote. Every broadcaster she spoke with at the SNL Kagan conference in New York said retransmission consent revenue will be split equally between affiliates and broadcast networks over the next three to four years, the analyst said. “Retrans rates seem to be higher than what we had expected,” she continued: Charges have averaged $1 a month per subscriber in recent deals.

TechPad beat its fundraising goals last week in its quest to bring gigabit-speed broadband infrastructure and free public Wi-Fi to downtown Blacksburg, Va. TechPad is an incubator that features a large coworking space located near Virginia Tech. It hopes to bring such a network to the community of 42,600 residents by this September and raised more than $92,000 from 179 contributors as of last Friday, less than two days before its Crowdtilt fundraiser ended. The goal had been $85,000. “Funds raised cover installation and one year of operations,” Director Bob Summers explained on the fundraising page. “Gig routers, switches and fiber will be purchased and installed in Kent Square and TechPad as part of the first phase. Wifi hot spots will light up Main street from Kent Square to Henderson lawn.” He referred to “two years of effort” in getting to this point. TechPad described the broader gigabit goals in a May 22 blog post (http://bit.ly/12wmv4b), which noted that former Virginia Technology Secretary Aneesh Chopra -- who went on to become the first U.S. chief technology officer and is now a candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor -- gave a donation and provided a statement of support. Summers also developed KinectHealth, an app intended for faster network speeds.

Sprint Nextel representatives met with FCC officials last week, at the commission’s request, to talk about changes to Form 477 and other issues tied to broadband reporting and data collection, according to an ex parte filing. “In particular, we discussed continuing to provide information similar to that currently provided by service providers to NTIA when NTIA’s mapping project ends,” Sprint officials said (http://bit.ly/13hzIZL). “At that time, service providers may be asked to produce a nationwide map (rather than individual state maps), and the speed shown on the map may be changed to the carrier’s minimum speed, rather than the maximum advertised speed. The Commission is also contemplating some additional changes to the information currently provided on the Form 477 and the development of a client-side application.”